Zelensky urges direct Putin talks and proposes a wartime ceasefire
Ukraine offers prisoner swap and summit in a neutral country
Kremlin says Putin has not yet reviewed Zelensky’s peace proposal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has published an open letter to Vladimir Putin calling for direct bilateral talks to end the war, warning the Russian leader that his resources are shrinking and that history will not judge him kindly for a conflict he chose to start.
The letter, addressed personally to Putin, comes as US-led negotiations remain frozen and proposes a full ceasefire for the duration of talks, an all-for-all prisoner exchange as a first step, and a face-to-face summit in a neutral country. Zelensky suggested Switzerland, Türkiye, or nations in the Arab world as possible venues, and said both Europe and the United States must be part of any resulting security arrangement.
Zelensky was pointed about the battlefield reality. He said Russian losses in May alone exceeded 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded, a figure he said Ukraine has video confirmation for, and that 63% of those casualties were fatalities rather than wounded. "In the 21st century, no army can afford such a ratio," he wrote.
The Ukrainian president also took aim at Putin's domestic standing, arguing that ordinary Russians were growing weary of fuel shortages, rising prices, and a war with no end in sight. He warned that Putin no longer had the money or political capital to sustain loyalty the way he had over the past 26 years.
On the diplomatic track, Zelensky rejected any suggestion of travelling to Moscow and said Ukraine would not hide behind technical working groups or shuttle diplomacy. The front line today, he wrote, is where negotiations must begin.
"Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war," Zelensky wrote. "If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence," he reiterated.
AFP reported that the Kremlin said Putin had not yet been shown the letter, but that Zelensky could come to Moscow "any time." Putin has previously said he would only meet Zelensky once a peace agreement was already finalised.
Previous rounds of negotiation between both in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Geneva failed to produce any agreement on the central question of territory.
