Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold a new round of peace talks next week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after negotiations between the countries last month made no progress toward ending the ongoing war.

"Everything should be done to achieve a cease-fire," Zelenskyysaidin his regular evening address on July 19.

"The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions," he added.

Zelenskyy also reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sit-down with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, saying: "A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace -- lasting peace."

Two rounds ofdirect peace talksbetween Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in May and early June secured large-scale prisoner swaps and deals to return the bodies of slain soldiers.

But they made no breakthrough in achieving a cease-fire to potentially end the military conflict that began with Russias full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

Zelenskyy said, Rustem Umerov, the newly appointed head of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, had sent Moscow the offer to hold the meeting next week, but did not provide further details.

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Umerov, a former defense minister, headed the Ukrainian delegation at both rounds of the peace talks in Turkey.

Moscow has repeatedly said it is ready for a fresh round of negotiations but has since intensified its relentless air strikes on Ukraine.

Zelenskyys comments came just hours after Russia fired nearly380 dronesand cruise and ballistic missiles at nearly a dozen Ukrainian towns and cities, killing at least one person and wounding others, according to Ukrainian emergency officials.

A nine-story apartment building in the Black Sea port of Odesa was hit, killing one woman and wounding several others, the officials said.