In public letter, Ukraine's Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct
negotiations in a neutral country
[June 05, 2026]
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy 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 Zelenskyy 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.
Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. 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,” Zelenskyy wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and
Zelenskyy 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.”
Zelenskyy 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.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during
a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in
Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy
Maloletka)
Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of seeking to draw Belarus deeper into the
conflict and of attempting to destabilize the situation around
Transnistria, the breakaway Moldovan region backed by Russia.
The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia was increasingly feeling the
costs of the war, pointing to drone attacks deep inside Russian
territory, economic strain, fuel shortages, rising prices, and the
necessity of more military mobilization.
Zelenskyy claimed Russia suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or
seriously wounded in May alone, saying Ukraine had “video confirmation”
of the battlefield losses and that such casualty levels had been
sustained month after month.
He added that Ukraine also continues to suffer painful losses despite
what he described as a favorable casualty ratio.
He said Ukraine was prepared to implement a full ceasefire for the
duration of negotiations and proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange
as a first step toward ending the conflict.
Zelenskyy also called for the return of civilians and children taken
from Ukraine during the war.
“The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would.
But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
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