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“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us. I propose a meeting,” Zelensky said in the letter. The Kremlin says the Ukrainian president can meet Putin at any time — in Moscow. Putin admits a deal if Ukraine makes concessions.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyproposed this Thursday a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putinin a rare open letter addressed to the Russian leader, shortly after the head of the Kremlin admitted that Moscow needs to reinforce its air defenses following a wave of Ukrainian attacks.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has been pushing both parties to end the conflict and has boasted of being able to end the war within a day of taking office, said a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky It would be “excellent”but urged both sides to do concessions.
The Kremlin said Putin had not yet seen the letter, but that Zelensky could meet Putin in Moscow “at any time”a proposal that the Ukrainian leader rejected in advance in the letter itself.
“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us — and with you. I propose a meeting,” Zelensky said in the letter. “I propose that a clear date be set for this meeting. Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire during negotiations”, he stressed.
Zelensky published the letter the day after ukrainian drones have reached the Putin’s hometown, Saint Petersburgin a week in which the city hosts an important international economic forum.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly appealed to a meeting with the former KGB spy, stating that only face-to-face negotiations will allow reaching an agreement on the territory. Direct questions from Zelensky to the Russian leader are rare.
“I was the one who suggested these concessions”
Trump, who was criticized for having last year, while inviting Putin to a summit in Alaska, said he was “pleased that maybe they are talking about getting together.”
“I think we had a lot to do with it,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, the scene of his confrontation with the Ukrainian leader. “I think it would be great if they got together. They should do it — work it out”.
Months of US-led negotiations failed to bring the parties together of a deal, at a time when Trump’s attention has largely been absorbed by the war with Iranlaunched by the United States and Israel more than three months ago.
“Both will have to make concessionsI was the one who suggested these concessions and, as you know, we had a lot to do with it”, said Trump about Ukraine and Russia, without giving further details.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022has demanded that Kiev withdraw from the eastern region of Donbasslarge parts of which remain under the control of the Ukrainian army, such as precondition for peace talks.
Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg shortly before Zelensky’s appeal was published, Putin once again called into questionas has often been done, the legitimacy of the Ukrainian leader.
Russian president says the question of whether Zelensky is the legitimate leader of Ukraine needed “analysis”after his initial five-year term expired in 2024.
A Martial law prohibits holding elections during wartime in Ukraine, and Zelensky has already made himself available to organize a vote or referendum on a final peace agreement if a total ceasefire is in force.
Putin stated that he would only meet with Zelensky to finalize a previously negotiated agreement, rejecting pleas for a date before then. “Zelensky can come to Moscow at any time,” Russian state media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov after the letter was published.
Also this Thursday, speaking to journalists in St. Petersburg, Putin highlighted that Russia has all the necessary resourcess to achieve its military objectives and that its troops continue to advance into Ukraine.
Still, he stated that Moscow is ready to reach an agreement with Ukraine by peaceful means. Putin says Donald Trump asked him to make concessions and that Moscow is willing to do sosince Ukraine also make concessions.
Reinforce air defenses
Ukraine has intensified its attacks in recent months long-range retaliatory measures against Russian energy and military targetsactions he considers a legitimate response to nighttime shelling by Russian forces.
“If I do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence,” Zelensky wrote in the letter.
Putin praised this Thursday the successes of your forces on the battlefieldat a time when confidence in Ukraine is growing. Asked if the Russian offensive against Ukraine had become a “strategic disaster”, Putin stated that Russia is “advancing along the entire line of contact”.
“We are absolutely ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means,” he added.
The pace of Russian advance has slowed since the end of 2025and recent data show that the Ukraine regained ground against Russia.
Ukraine regained more territory in May than it lost for Russian forces, for the second month in a row, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin admitted that the Russia needs to improve its defense systems aerial, speaking a day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal and athe naval base in St. Petersburgprecisely when the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) opened, nicknamed the “Russian Davos”.
“Russia has an air defense system. Yes, we have to improve itr. Yes, we have to reinforce it. E fa-lo-emos”, stated the Russian leader.
