Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter, offering a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations.
The letter, published on Thursday, came shortly after Putin conceded that Moscow needed to strengthen its air defences following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, including strikes on Saint Petersburg this week.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting. Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations.”
The Kremlin responded by saying Zelensky could meet Putin in Moscow “any time” – a proposal the Ukrainian leader had preemptively ruled out in his letter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not yet been shown the letter.
US President Donald Trump, who has pushed both sides to end the conflict, said a Putin-Zelensky meeting would be “great” but urged both parties to compromise.
“I think it would be great if they met. They should – get it done,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They’re going to both make compromises, I suggested those compromises, and you know, we’ve had a lot to do with it.”
Months of US-led negotiations have failed to bring the sides closer to an agreement, with Trump’s attention largely absorbed by the Iran war that the United States and Israel launched more than three months ago.
Zelensky published the letter a day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal and naval base in Saint Petersburg, as the city hosted the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum this week.
Direct addresses from Zelensky to the Russian leader are rare. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly called for face-to-face talks, saying only direct negotiations will yield an agreement on territory.
Speaking to foreign journalists in Saint Petersburg just before Zelensky’s appeal was published, Putin repeated his frequent questioning of the Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy, saying it needed “analysis” after his initial five-year term expired in 2024.
Martial law prohibits elections during wartime in Ukraine, and Zelensky has offered to stage a vote or referendum on a final peace deal if a full ceasefire is in place.
Russia, which invaded in 2022, has demanded Ukraine pull out of its eastern Donbas region – large parts of which Kyiv’s army still controls – as a precondition to peace talks. Putin has said he would only meet Zelensky to finalise an already agreed deal, rejecting calls to meet beforehand.
“If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence,” Zelensky warned in the letter.
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Ukraine has intensified its long-range retaliatory strikes on Russian energy and military targets in recent months – attacks it describes as a fair response to nightly barrages by Russia’s army.
Putin on Thursday hailed his forces’ achievements on the battlefield, saying Russia was “advancing along the entire line of contact” when asked whether the offensive had become a “strategic disaster”.
“We are absolutely ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means,” he added.
However, the pace of Russia’s advance has slowed since late 2025, and recent data shows Ukraine has regained ground. Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost to Russian forces in May for the second straight month, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.
Putin also accepted that Russia needs to improve its air defence systems following the Saint Petersburg strikes. “Russia has an air defence system. Yes, we must improve it. Yes, we must strengthen it. And we will do so,” the Russian leader said.
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