Vitaly Shevchenko,KyivAnd
Toby Mann
Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between him and Vladimir Putin in a new attempt to end the war.
In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be “wrong to simply wait” for the war in Europe to once again become the focus of US attention, adding that peace could only come “through direct engagement” between Ukraine and Russia.
He also called for a complete ceasefire for the duration of the proposed negotiations – something Putin ruled out on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he thought “it would be great” if the two leaders met.
The Kremlin confirmed that it had received the letter and that Putin would be informed.
The tone of the letter was provocative, even mocking, drawing attention to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
Zelensky said that “after 26 years in power, age is starting to take its toll” on Putin.
The letter also contained an invitation.
“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I propose a meeting,” Zelensky wrote.
This is not a new offer from the Ukrainian leader.
As in the past, the Kremlin responded by saying Zelensky was welcome to meet with Putin in Moscow.
What is remarkable is kyiv’s public acknowledgment that the United States “is fully focused on the Iranian issue.”
“It would be a mistake to simply wait for the war in Europe to return to the center of attention,” Zelensky wrote.
Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg, apparently without having seen the contents of the letter, Putin said he was “certainly ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine” but said compromises had to be found.
EPA
Putin suggested that since Trump was busy with Iran, the EU could convince Zelensky to cede his territory.
Putin’s position has long been that Ukraine should withdraw from four regions largely occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – and abandon its efforts to join NATO.
Ukraine has ruled out ceding territory, saying it would encourage Russia to invade again, as it did in 2022 when it launched its full-scale war eight years after illegally annexing Crimea.
Ceasefire negotiations have stalled in recent months and previous peace talks in Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul failed.
In the letter of more than 1,800 words, Zelensky said: “It’s not as if we in Ukraine are worried about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country.
“But I care about the Ukrainians. We are losing our people, and every loss is painful for us.”
Zelensky said Russians were fed up with Ukrainian drone and missile attacks, oil shortages and rising prices, as well as war.
“Don’t be afraid to get out of this war. This is the main thing required of you now,” he implored.
He said Ukraine was proposing to end the war “through direct engagement between us.”
Zelensky said face-to-face negotiations could take place in a country like Switzerland or Turkey.
The Ukrainian president’s letter arrived the same day Putin was in St. Petersburg, where a major economic forum is being held.
The day before, kyiv launched a drone attack on the outskirts of the city, a strike referred to in Zelensky’s message as a “visit.”
Separately, authorities in occupied Crimea, supported by Russia, blamed Ukraine for the deaths of four people in attacks on the regional capital, Simferopol. Ukraine said it had hit a fuel depot.
On Friday, Ukrainian authorities announced that at least four people had been killed in a Russian strike on the offices of a food company outside kyiv.
At his news conference on Thursday, Putin seemed to immediately cast doubt on the possibility of a meeting or agreement.
“Whether Mr. Zelensky is a legitimate representative of Ukraine is a question for lawyers, for legal analysis,” he said – a repeat of a Russian line that there has been no presidential election since Zelensky’s term expired in May 2024.
However, elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared following the Russian invasion.
Trump said he believes the United States has been instrumental in bringing the two countries together toward peace.
“I think it would be great if they met. They should do it. Do it,” he said.
Asked what compromises the two sides would have to make, he said he would “prefer not to say.”
“I want them to each make certain compromises, and I think they will.”
