Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing a direct, face-to-face meeting to end the war in Ukraine, while also offering a full ceasefire for the duration of any negotiations. The letter, which runs to more than 1,800 words and was published on the Ukrainian presidency's website, represents one of the few occasions since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 that Zelensky has addressed Putin directly. The Ukrainian leader suggested neutral venues including Switzerland, Turkey, and Arab countries for such a meeting, and explicitly ruled out travelling to Moscow — a condition the Kremlin immediately reasserted, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Zelensky could visit the Russian capital "any time."
The letter's tone combined a formal diplomatic overture with pointed provocation. Zelensky referenced recent Ukrainian drone strikes on St Petersburg — Putin's home city, where a major international economic forum was taking place — as "paying a visit," and noted that "after 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll" on the Russian president. He also acknowledged frankly that Washington's attention has shifted, writing that "it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the centre of its attention" — a reference to the Trump administration's focus on the crisis in Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told Congress this week that US-led negotiations were at a standstill, partly because neither side had shown willingness to make concessions, "especially the Russian side."
Putin, speaking to foreign journalists in St Petersburg before the letter's contents were made public, said he was "certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine," but insisted compromises were necessary — repeating Moscow's longstanding demand that Ukraine withdraw from the four eastern and southern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, and abandon its bid to join NATO. He also again questioned Zelensky's legitimacy as a negotiating partner, pointing to the expiry of his presidential term in 2024. Ukraine's martial law, imposed after Russia's invasion, prohibits elections during wartime; Zelensky has said he would be open to a vote or referendum on a final peace deal once a full ceasefire is in place. Putin has also declined to meet before a deal is already agreed in principle.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the proposal, saying it would be "great" if the two leaders met and that both sides would need to make compromises, though he declined to specify what those might be. Analysts, however, remain cautious. Elina Beketova of the Center for European Policy Analysis argued that recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities suggest Moscow is not ready for de-escalation, and that a genuine opening for talks would only emerge if the battlefield situation shifts significantly.
On the ground, the military picture is mixed. Putin claimed Russian forces were "advancing along the entire line of contact," but data from the Institute for the Study of War shows Ukraine recaptured approximately 282 square kilometres of territory in May — the second consecutive month in which Kyiv recovered more land than it lost. A brief three-day ceasefire in May, brokered through US efforts, quickly broke down amid mutual accusations of violations. Previous peace talks in Geneva, Abu Dhabi, and Istanbul have all failed to produce a breakthrough, and ceasefire negotiations have been largely stalled since the conflict expanded in the Middle East drew American diplomatic resources away from the Ukrainian file.