Kremlin's response to Zelenski's letter: He can come "at any moment" to meet with Putin
Moscow promptly responded to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's letter to Vladimir Putin requesting a meeting with the Kremlin leader and an end to the war.
Moscow's response
Volodymyr Zelenskyy can meet with Vladimir Putin "at any moment" in Moscow, the Kremlin said on Thursday, after the publication of a letter in which the Ukrainian president invites his Russian counterpart to a direct meeting to negotiate an end to the war, according to AFP, cited by Agerpres.
"Zelenskyy can come to Moscow at any moment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to statements quoted by Russian state media, adding that the Russian president has not yet seen the letter.
Zelenskyy's letter
"Open letter to the President of the Russian Federation
From the President of Ukraine
When you came to power in Russia, more than 26 years ago, many people in Ukraine looked at you with sympathy. That's how it was back then. But that belongs to the past.
Now, the vast majority of Ukrainians look with satisfaction at the fact that our long-range drones visited the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, covering a distance of over 1,000 kilometers. As you know very well, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities.
In your 26 years in power, the agenda of relations between Ukraine and Russia has completely changed. From discussions about trade and other civilian matters, our nations have come to speak almost exclusively about strikes and losses.
You have spent nearly half of your 26 years in power in Russia waging war against Ukraine.
Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice — a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it.
Those years could have been very different.
We often hear that you feel comfortable with this war. Of course, not when it comes to the security of your residence in Valdai or the parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you.
But now we can all see that Russians are finally starting to feel less comfortable with this reality — with the fact that the war is bringing more and more negative consequences to Russia.
They do not like our drones and missiles.
They do not like fuel shortages and the continuous rise in prices.
They do not like the permanent restrictions.
They do not like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilization to expand the war in another direction in Ukraine or to use it against other neighboring countries of Russia.
They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.
Yes, you can still force Russians to live like this. But your resources are significantly decreasing.
You will not have enough money or political capital to continue buying the loyalty of Russians as you have done for the last 26 years.
And we will do everything in our power to make the world help bring that moment closer.
As you yourself like to say, "we must do the math."
Yesterday I received a report on the losses of your army on the front in Ukraine during the month of May. Once again, the number exceeded 30,000 Russian soldiers killed and seriously wounded. We maintain this level month after month and have video confirmation for each of your losses — these are not mere unsubstantiated claims.
We know that 63% of your battlefield losses are deaths, and only 37% are wounded. In the 21st century, no army can afford such a ratio. And the proportion of those killed will continue to rise.
It's not as if we in Ukraine care about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country.
But I care about Ukrainians.
We are losing our people, and every loss is painful for us. Even when the ratio of Ukrainian to Russian losses is one to five or one to six, this matters enormously.
It also matters that you regularly postpone, every few months, your own deadlines for conquering our regions — especially the Donetsk region. And you will not conquer it this year either.
But we in Ukraine do not want a permanent war. We know very well that life without war is infinitely better. And we want to get there.
I am convinced that the majority of Russians would also view this positively — and you know that.
Many did not believe that Ukraine would be able to resist for so long. You did not believe. Neither did those who advised you. It was a mistake.
You did not expect widespread resistance from Ukraine and did not foresee that things would go so far. And yet, here we are — in the fifth year of this large-scale war.
Do not be afraid to choose the path out of this war. That is the main thing required of you now.
Ukraine has preserved its independence. And it will preserve it. Despite all predictions to the contrary.
We have united many states and people around the world on Ukraine's side and against you. We found the weapons and funding we needed.
We receive support. You receive sanctions. And this will continue until there is justice for Ukraine — the justice we seek and the justice that can be achieved.
We will not allow those who try to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly eased and that support for Ukraine will be considerably reduced, without any real change in your position toward Ukraine, to succeed. The example of Viktor Orbán shows how those who choose to help Russia in its war against us end up being perceived.
Ukraine endured difficult winters while you tried to destroy our energy system. We resisted — and even in darkness, the resilience of Ukrainians remained intact.
We brought the war to your territory and you could not have managed without North Korea's help. You are the first leader of Russia to call on Pyongyang for help.
And today you are completely dependent on China — also for the first time in Russia's history.
You thought Ukrainians would not have the strength to defend themselves. Yet today, our people are helping our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf region build their own defense systems.
You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine. Instead, your own military formations organized a revolt against you. On June 23 it will be another year since that event, and silence will not erase this fact from history.
And now you are the one whom your own officials, businessmen, and propagandists look at with visible fatigue. The world can see this.
The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped. But there is growing fatigue with Russia — even among those who help you avoid sanctions and keep your economy afloat.
You cannot fail to notice this. After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll. And with time, the fatigue with you will only increase.
We have seen intelligence reports showing that you are now analyzing plans to continue the war until 2027 and 2028. We also know that you hope ballistic missiles will achieve what all other means have failed to achieve. You want to draw Belarus even deeper into this war, and we are now forced to prepare for that as well. We see that you are trying to orchestrate something around Transnistria. Your propagandists threaten, in one way or another, every neighboring country of Russia. Do you really want to go through all this?
The choice is now yours.
Enough with the war.
Ukraine proposes ending this war.
This must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.
We see that the United States is completely focused on the Iran issue and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of their attention.
Ukraine proposes ending this war through a direct dialogue between us — you and me.
I propose a meeting.
Everyone has heard your representatives saying, with a smile, that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after these 26 years, there is nothing for a Ukrainian leader to do in your capital — just as there is nothing for a Russian leader to do in Kyiv.
There are countries that have traditionally hosted leaders for resolving war and peace issues. Switzerland, Turkey, the countries of the Arab world — many are capable and willing to host such a meeting.
Leaders are the ones who solve key problems. That has always been so and always will be.
I propose setting a clear date for such a meeting.
I have heard that you were promised in Alaska the resolution of certain issues regarding Ukraine and Europe. But you can see for yourself that Ukrainian and European issues are not decided in Anchorage.
Other agreed participants could join the bilateral format to be established between us.
Since the war is taking place in Europe and since Ukraine needs security guarantees, and you are also seeking security guarantees for yourself, it would be logical to involve those who can truly serve as guarantors.
We believe that Europe must be part of this process — those who truly have the capacity to influence the situation.
We also believe that the United States must be part of the process. That is the thing that could help shape a new security architecture for our part of the world.
We have already had numerous agreements with Russia, including the Minsk Agreements, which ultimately failed. That is why we must first find direct answers between us to the questions that remain and not hide from difficult problems behind formulas, technical working groups, or time wasted in shuttle diplomacy.
Your war has definitively separated Ukraine and Russia.
The frontline today is the line from which diplomacy must begin.
Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. This is standard practice, and the current developments around Iran only strengthen this argument. An attempt to establish a real silence is the best way to start talking to each other. We believe it would be not just an attempt, but a real ceasefire — if that is what you want.
You know that the United States has the capacity to monitor compliance with the ceasefire along the line where hostilities stop.
Ukraine is ready for a full exchange of prisoners of war, on the principle of "all for all," and this could become a good prologue to ending the war.
Serious steps must be taken for the return of civilians and children who were taken during the war.
We must determine what kind of future awaits the generations of Ukrainians and Russians who will come after us.
If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence. We will have people who support us.
But you will also have to fight much harder for your own existence!
Not for the existence of Russia, but for your own. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. It is a fact of Russian history that you know very well: when Russia gets tired, change comes.
We can help that fatigue appear.
You can stop your war.
Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken by this war.
Glory to Ukraine!", wrote Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the presidential administration in Kyiv.
Trump's reaction
Donald Trump assured on Thursday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be "super," according to AFP.
"I am delighted that they are talking about a meeting. I think we have some merit in this (...) I think it would be super for them to meet," the US president said from the Oval Office.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday proposed a meeting to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an open letter, while also suggesting "a complete truce" during negotiations to end the war.
