Russia's Putin, Ukraine's Zelenskiy discuss ending conflict in eastern Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a news conference after meeting European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium, June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy held their first telephone conversation on Thursday and discussed settling the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the return of prisoners, the Kremlin said.

Zelenskiy, a former comic actor with no previous political experience, won Ukraine's presidential election in April and he has declared the settlement of the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev's forces one of his priorities.