Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The letter is the first public message Mr Zelenskyy has written directly to Mr Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
In the letter, Mr Zelenskyy gave a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power.
The Kremlin said it had seen the letter and would brief Mr Putin on it but the Russian leader, speaking at a press briefing, said “there are many questions” that needed answering for a ceasefire.
“There’s no need for a suspension of hostilities to begin negotiations,” Mr Putin said.
Vladimir Putin did not rule out signing a peace deal with Ukraine. (Reuters: Dmitri Lovetsky/Pool)
“But if at some point we go as far as to signing of documents, if there is a desire to peacefully end the armed conflict — and Russia does have this desire — we will … sign the relevant documents if there were a will to do so.”
Mr Zelenskyy also acknowledged shifting US priorities in his letter, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for the Trump administration to return its attention to ending the Ukraine war while it remained heavily focused on the Iran war.
“I am proposing a meeting,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote.
US President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if the two met. “They should get it done,” he said.
Asked what concessions he had urged Mr Putin to make to end the war, Mr Trump declined to provide details but said both sides would need to compromise.
“They’re going to both make compromises,” he said.
Pivotal moment in the war
Mr Zelenskyy appeared to be trying to seize a pivotal moment in the war, as Ukraine had begun to regain some battlefield leverage largely through improved long-range strike capabilities that have complicated Russia’s advances.
On Thursday this week, Ukraine released footage showing strikes on a Russian patrol ship in Crimea and on the Pantsir-S1 defence system in the Kherson region of Russia-controlled Ukraine.
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At the same time, Moscow has intensified its deadly aerial campaign across Ukraine, seeking to exploit Kyiv’s shortages and continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.
Mr Zelenskyy proposed setting a clear date for a meeting and said several countries had “traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace”, citing Switzerland, Türkiye and the countries of the Arab world.
“Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting … If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence.”
He said Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was considering plans to prolong the war into 2027 and 2028, while increasingly relying on ballistic missile strikes to achieve what its ground campaign had failed to accomplish.
Mr Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of seeking to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict and of attempting to destabilise the situation around Transnistria, the breakaway Moldovan region backed by Russia.
He argued that Russia was increasingly feeling the costs of the war, pointing to drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, economic strain, fuel shortages, rising prices and the necessity of more military mobilisation.
He added that both sides were suffering painful losses but described it as a favourable casualty ratio to Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to implement a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations and proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange as a first step toward ending the conflict.
“The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” he said.
He continued that a continued war could threaten Mr Putin’s personal position.
“It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes.“
ABC/Wires
