Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a direct public appeal to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, urging him to agree to a personal meeting aimed at ending the war and warning that the conflict cannot continue indefinitely. The letter, published on June 4 and set to be delivered to Moscow through diplomatic channels, appeared one day after Ukraine carried out a major drone operation targeting military facilities and a key oil terminal in St. Petersburg while Putin was hosting international guests at Russia’s flagship economic forum.
In the letter, Zelensky argued that the war has become inseparable from Putin’s political legacy. “Almost half of your 26 years of power in Russia you have spent in the war against Ukraine,” he wrote, adding that history would remember the invasion as “your personal choice – a war without a real reason.” He dismissed Kremlin narratives about NATO, geopolitics, and language issues, saying they could not justify the destruction caused by the conflict.
The Ukrainian president pointed to Russia’s inability to achieve its original military goals in 2022, the impact of Western sanctions, mounting battlefield losses, and growing dissatisfaction among ordinary Russians. According to Zelensky, Russian citizens are increasingly frustrated by rising prices, fuel shortages, restrictions, and the possibility of further mobilization. “They do not like your intention to organize a second wave of mobilization,” he wrote, arguing that many Russians no longer see an end to the conflict.
