Zelensky calls for face-to-face negotiations to end war in public letter to Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.The letter, the first public message Zelensky has written directly to Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power.Zelensky acknowledged shifting US priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for the Trump administration to return its attention to ending the Ukraine war while it remains heavily focused on the Iran war.“I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky wrote.US President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelensky met.“They should get it done,” Trump said.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.”Zelensky appeared to be trying to seize a pivotal moment in the war, as Ukraine has begun to regain some battlefield leverage largely through improved long-range strike capabilities that have complicated Russia’s advances.At the same time, Moscow has intensified its deadly aerial campaign across Ukraine, seeking to exploit Kyiv’s shortages and continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.He said the talks could be hosted by a neutral third country, ruling out both Moscow and Kyiv as venues and suggested Switzerland, Turkey or Arab states as possible hosts for negotiations.“It is leaders who resolve the key issues.

That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote.“I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”He said Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was considering plans to prolong the war into 2027 and 2028, while increasingly relying on ballistic missile strikes to achieve what its ground campaign had failed to accomplish.Zelensky also accused Mosco...