Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News' Martha Raddatz his country is ready for a ceasefire brokered by the United States, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of aiming for the "total defeat" of Ukraine.

In the exclusive sit-down interview in Kyiv with Raddatz, co-anchor of ABC News' "This Week," Zelenskyy said Putin is uninterested in peace and that only "hard pressure" led by the U.S. and joined by European allies would render Putin to be "pragmatic" in his thinking.

"Then they will stop the war," Zelenskyy said.

"I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up," Zelenskyy told Raddatz.
Zelenskyy's pleas for the end of fighting in Ukraine -- a consistent message since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 -- came as Russia bombarded Ukraine, launching 472 drones last week.
The Ukrainian air force said it was the largest drone assault of the war.

"Probably people don't realize that," Zelenskyy said. "They have to understand that we are under strikes, under attack every day. And you might remember that when they were talking about ceasefires, temporary ceasefire[s], they still continued attacking and launching strikes."