Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he will personally attend landmark peace talks on Thursday with Russia in a direct ultimatum to Vladimir Putin.

Writing on social media on Sunday afternoon, Ukraine's President said he "will be waiting" in Istanbul for his Russian counterpart to sit down and negotiate.

But he said he would only attend the talks if a "full and lasting" ceasefire came into force on Monday.

Zelensky said: "We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.

"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses."

Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he will personally attend landmark peace talks on Thursday with Russia

It comes just a few hours after Zelensky said his country is "ready to meet" Russian representatives - but stopped short of confirming he would talk to them himself.

"We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire - full, lasting, and reliable - starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet," he said.

That in itself followed Putin's late-night address in which he confirmed the talks would take place on May 15.

The Russian premier called on his beleaguered neighbour to sit down with his own delegates in a bid to "eliminate the root causes of the conflict" and "to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace".