Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Thursday night on holding a meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia and end a war that has lasted more than four years. The Ukrainian president’s proposal is not new, but it is the first time he has done so with an open letter to the head of the Kremlin. On previous occasions, Moscow has refused, indicating that such a meeting would only be possible when a firm agreement already exists that both leaders would only have to ratify.
Read more U.S. House of Representatives backs sanctioning Russia, a setback for Trump
Aware of the priorities of the United States and President Donald Trump’s administration, currently involved in seeking a way out of its war with Iran, Zelensky said in his letter that “it would be a mistake to simply wait” for Washington to refocus its attention on resolving the war in Ukraine. Peace will only be achieved “through direct dialogue” between Ukraine and Russia, the Ukrainian leader added.
Zelensky also called in his letter for a ceasefire during the proposed negotiations with Putin. But this point is also something that Russia rejects. The Russian president himself emphasized this on Thursday during a meeting with international agencies within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Putin insisted on his demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from Donetsk
Moscow has always said that a truce would only serve for Kyiv to recover and receive more weapons from its Western allies. “It’s better to stop the war, accepting the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage,” the Alaskan city where the Russian-American summit took place in August 2025, Putin said, alluding to Russia’s demand that Kyiv withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian province of Donetsk.
But the positions of Moscow and Kyiv on the territorial issue are irreconcilable. Zelensky refuses to accept the Kremlin’s demand to cede the Donetsk area that his army still defends, so that Russia would control all of Donbass. The other province that forms this region, Luhansk, is already in Russian hands.
On the same Thursday, Donald Trump declared that “it would be great” if Putin and Zelensky met. And Putin revealed that the US president had asked Russia to make some concessions to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine. Moscow would be willing to do so as long as Kyiv did the same, the head of the Kremlin assured.
Immediately afterwards, he showed his distrust. He said that Ukraine is not willing to take that step. Trump’s peace proposals could serve as a basis for a peace agreement, but for them to work, he still needs to persuade Kyiv, he added.
Read more The French magnate who is asking to change the law to disinherit his children and donate his fortune
“You may end up fighting not for the existence of Russia, but for your own existence,” Zelensky tells Putin
The Kremlin has confirmed receipt of Volodymyr Zelensky’s letter. Despite the invitation to meet personally, the letter does not have a conciliatory tone. Rather, it is defiant.
Zelensky tells Putin that if he does not end the war, he will eventually have to fight for his own existence, as history shows that when Russia gets tired, a change comes.
“Ukraine has its resources and we can make that fatigue happen. You may end up fighting not for the existence of Russia, but for your own existence,” he added. “Whatever you say about NATO geopolitics or the Russian language, this war is your personal decision, a war without true reason,” he asserted.
He also recalled the latest strike by Ukrainian unmanned vehicles, which on Wednesday attacked and hit a oil terminal and a naval base near St. Petersburg. “Today, most Ukrainians view positively that our long-range drones pay a visit to your economic forum in St. Petersburg,” he underlined, somewhat ironically.
And he also noted that “after 26 years in power, age is starting to take its toll” on Putin before proposing face-to-face negotiations. “Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct dialogue between us and you. I am proposing a meeting,” the president of Ukraine wrote.
That proposed meeting would not take place in Moscow or Kyiv, but in a neutral location, such as Switzerland or an Arab country, he suggested. “You can end your war,” Zelensky says in the letter, adding that the US and the European Union must participate in the negotiations.
Read more What messages does the Pope want to leave on his visit to Spain?
