UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky urged today a group of top defence officials at Asia’s premier security conference to attend a peace summit on ending the war with Russia.

President Zelensky told the group of more than 500 delegates from about 40 countries in Singapore that he was “disappointed” some world leaders had not yet confirmed attendance at the conference in Switzerland in about two weeks.

Russia has not been invited to attend the conference.

Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine had proposals to make at the summit as a basis for peace, addressing nuclear security, food security, the release of prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

“Time is running out and the children are growing up in the Putin-land where they are taught to hate their homeland,” he said.

At the same time, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine is “ready to hear various proposals and thoughts that lead us to an end of the war and a sustainable and just peace.”

The greater the participation, the more likely it will be that Russia will have to listen, he said.

Ukraine has lost much ground on the battlefield to the Russians in recent weeks leading many experts to say Kiev has all but lost the war.