Volodymyr Zelensky has published a letter appealing to Russian president Vladimir Putin for a meeting, while launching a blistering verdict on his 26-year tenure in Moscow.
The message warned it would be misguided to simply await the Trump administration’s renewed focus on ending the conflict in Ukraine while its attention remains heavily directed towards the war in Iran, proposing that Moscow and Kyiv alone take the next steps.
Kyiv is looking to seize the initiative in what is a pivotal moment in the war, with Ukraine beginning to regain some leverage on the battlefield in part due to improved long-range strike capabilities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is aware of Volodymyr Zelensky’s letter to president Vladimir Putin and that the Russian president would be informed about it later.
According to the BBC, the Kremlin added that the Ukrainian president is welcome to visit Moscow.
Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelensky met. “They should get it done,” the president told reporters.
Asked what concessions he had urged Putin to make to end the war, Trump declined to provide details but said both sides would need to compromise.
“They’re going to both make compromises,” he said. “I suggested those compromises.”
Open Letter
To the President of the Russian Federation
From the President of Ukraine
When you led Russia more than 26 years ago, many in Ukraine had a positive attitude towards you. That was the case. That is already in the past.
Now the absolute majority of Ukrainians perceive positively the fact that our long-range drones visited the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, having overcome a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you well know, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities.
Twenty-six years of your power have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions of trade turnover and other civil issues, our peoples have moved on to the topic of exclusively hits and losses.
Almost half of your 26 years of power in Russia you have spent in the war against Ukraine.
Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice – a war without a real reason. This is how history will remember it.
This time could have gone very differently.
We often hear that war suits you. Of course, not when it comes to the safety of your residence in Valdai or the parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you.
But now we all see that this finally ceases to suit the Russians — the fact that the war gives more and more negativity to Russia.
They do not like our drones and missiles.
They do not like the shortage of gasoline and the constant rise in prices.
They do not like the constant bans.
They do not like your intention to organize a second wave of mobilization to expand the war to another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against some other countries — Russia’s neighbors.
They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.
Yes, you can still force the Russians to exist like this.
More details here...
