Zelensky Letter To Putin

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an open letter to the Vladimir Putin, has called for a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president to end his war against Ukraine. The letter sets out Zelenskyy’s view of the four-year-old conflict and says that while Ukrainians’ resilience remains intact, most Russians have grown weary of its effects and are ready for peace. The Ukrainian president has rarely addressed Putin directly, but has repeatedly called for a meeting with him, saying it is necessary for any agreement on territory. Putin has previously ruled out such direct talks, falsely calling Zelenskyy an “illegitimate” leader and saying he would meet him only to finalise a deal agreed beforehand. Here is the full text of Zelenskyy’s letter, which is published on the president’s website and his office says has been sent to other countries including the US. 4 June 2026 – 21:20 Open Letter To the President of the Russian Federation From the President of Ukraine When you came to power in Russia more than 26 years ago, many people in Ukraine viewed you positively. That is how it was. But that is now in the past. Now, the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians view it positively that our long-range drones paid a visit to the opening of your forum in St Petersburg, covering a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres. As you know very well, that distance is not the limit of our capabilities. Cars near a banner for the economic forum, with black smoke rising in the distance Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as ‘Russian Davos’ opens in city Read more For 26 years, your time in power has completely changed the agenda of relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions about trade and other civilian matters, our nations have moved to talking almost exclusively about strikes and losses. You have spent nearly half of your 26 years in power in Russia waging war against Ukraine. Whatever you may say about Nato, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice – a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it. Those years could have been very different. We often hear that you are comfortable with this war. Of course, not in those cases when it comes to the security of your residence in Valdai or your parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you. But now we can all see that Russians are finally becoming less comfortable with this reality – with the fact that the war is bringing more and more negative consequences to Russia. They do not like our drones and missiles. They do not like gasoline shortages and constantly rising prices. They do not like constant restrictions. They do not like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilisation in order to expand the war into another direction in Ukraine or to use it against other countries neighbouring Russia. They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war. Yes, you can still force Russians to exist this way. But your resources are shrinking significantly. You will not have enough money or political capital to keep buying the loyalty of Russians the way you have for the past 26 years. And we will do everything we can to ensure that the world helps bring that moment closer. As you yourself like to say, “we need to run the numbers.” Yesterday, I received a report on the losses of your army on the front in Ukraine during May. Once again, the number exceeded 30,000 Russian soldiers killed and seriously wounded. We have been maintaining that level month after month, and we have video confirmation of every one of your losses – these are not empty claims. We know that 63% of your battlefield losses are killed, while only 37% are wounded. In the 21st century, no army can afford such a ratio. And the share of those killed will continue to grow. It is not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country. But I do care about Ukrainians.... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/05/volodymyr-zelenskyy-open-letter-to-putin-full-text-russia-ukraine-war