Zelensky call for face-to-face meeting with Putin

KIEV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has 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.

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,” Zelensky wrote on June 4.

U.S. 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 Kiev’s shortages and continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.

Zelensky said the talks could be hosted by a neutral third country, ruling out both Moscow and Kiev as venues and suggested Switzerland, Türkiye or Arab states as possible hosts for negotiations.

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.