Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accepted an offer from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to assist in seeking a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war. The two leaders met on June 14, 2026, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, to discuss peace efforts [1, 2].
During their meeting, Zelenskiy shared his views on possible diplomatic paths to end the war. He also briefed Lula on the actual attitudes within Russian society toward the conflict and updated him on Kyiv’s ongoing diplomatic engagements with partners, including the United States [2]. Zelenskiy said, "The President shared his ideas on potential approaches in diplomacy. ... We agreed on our further contacts." He added, "I informed the Brazilian president about the real attitudes in Russian society toward the war, as well as Kyiv’s diplomatic engagements with Washington and other partners." [2]
Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Zelenskiy, said, "They agreed that, in particular, based on such ideas and contacts, they would try to achieve something and later they would discuss it based on the results." The two leaders committed to maintaining further communication to follow up on their peace efforts [1].
Lula has already engaged with leaders of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council about the peace initiative and plans to continue those discussions [1]. Meanwhile, Ukraine aims to reinvigorate diplomacy as previous U.S.-brokered talks have stalled [1].
Apart from Lula, Zelenskiy also met other key world leaders in France, including U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz [2].
On June 17, Zelenskiy publicly described the meeting with Lula on social media, highlighting their exchange of ideas on diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict [2]. The leaders are expected to continue their dialogue in the coming weeks to explore concrete steps toward peace.
