When Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to end the war, it wasn't the first time Ukraine's leader announced his readiness to talk to Moscow. In fact, the two sides already tried to negotiate in the early days of the war.

Days after Ukrainian troops seized part of Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise attack, President Vladimir Putin told defense officials their “main objective” was to repel the invasion. Six months later,