"Putin wants everything here to burn, and he is a madman — our partners can see that. Despite this, Ukraine remains ready for negotiations with him. But Europe must fully engage so that we have a strong position," the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelenskyy added that this includes sanctions, the confiscation of Russian assets and continued financial support for Ukraine.
The president also said that the Russian dictator fears the return of his army home and warned that Russia could intensify its attacks on Ukraine.
"Putin is becoming weaker — politically, on the battlefield and physically. That is why he may intensify missile and drone attacks against us and our people," Zelenskyy said, urging Ukrainians to use bomb shelters.
Zelenskyy's recent proposals to meet with Putin and Russia's response
On June 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published an open letter to Vladimir Putin, calling for an end to the war "in a format between you and us" and proposing a personal meeting. In the letter, he also said Russia was suffering heavy battlefield losses, repeatedly postponing its plans to capture Ukraine's Donetsk region, while Russian citizens were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Ukrainian drone strikes and fuel shortages.
Zelenskyy also said Kyiv was prepared to agree to a full ceasefire for the sake of negotiations and to conduct an "all-for-all" prisoner exchange.
On June 15, Zelenskyy said he had proposed meeting Putin during the G7 summit held June 15-17 in the French city of Evian.
On June 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Moscow's position that if Zelenskyy wanted to meet Putin, he could do so in Moscow. He again dismissed Zelenskyy's proposals to hold talks on neutral territory.
Peskov also claimed that Putin had not received any invitation from Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Zelenskyy rejected the possibility of meeting Putin in Moscow.
"I know that Putin has repeatedly suggested through various leaders that I come to Moscow. But these are games. We are not playing such games," the Ukrainian president said.
He added that any talks should take place in a neutral country rather than in Ukraine or Russia.
"It could be Switzerland, Turkey or a country in the Middle East," Zelenskyy said.