Ukrainian president does not exclude holding referendum on Crimea and Donbass

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said he did not exclude holding a referendum on the future status of war-torn eastern Ukraine and the Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Speaking to television channel 1+1, Zelenskiy said U.S. President Joe Biden had in a call on Thursday conveyed Russian reassurances that Moscow would not cause an escalation in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy welcomed Biden's involvement in trying to achieve peace in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region, he said, but added he would not rule out holding direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to solve the issue.