New Delhi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a rare letter Thursday. Pointing to America’s focus on Iran, Zelenskyy highlighted that only direct conversation between the two leaders can end Europe’s longest running war this century.
Zelenskyy asserted that Ukraine was ready for a “full ceasefire” for the duration of the proposed negotiations. The 1,800+ word letter struck a sharp but measured tone, appealing for an end to the bloodshed and a negotiated settlement to the conflict.The letter posed an invitation to Putin: “Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting.”
Zelenskyy opened with a pointed reflection on the Russian leader’s legacy: “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.” He went on to argue that Putin has spent nearly half of his time in power “waging war against Ukraine”. The conflict began on 24 February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, both sides have suffered significant losses as Russia continues its bombardment of Ukrainian cities and Ukraine employs missile and drone strikes against vital Russian oil and military infrastructure. Zelenskyy underscored the especially grave toll that the war has taken on Russian troops, asserting that 63% of all Russian battlefield losses are dead and that “only 37 percent are wounded.” He claimed that in May alone, “the number exceeded 30,000 Russian soldiers killed and seriously wounded”. The letter carries particular significance given that the two leaders have not met since the start of the war, with their last face-to-face meeting being in 2019 at the Normandy Format summit held in Paris. Despite hopes that the summit would reinvigorate the Minsk peace process, the agreements ultimately unraveled and paved the way for Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine in 2022.The Kremlin confirmed that it received the letter and would brief Putin on its contents. In response to foreign journalists in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Putin affirmed that he was “certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine”, though it is unclear whether he has read the letter himself. According to the BBC, President Trump said Thursday that an in-person engagement between the two leaders would be “great” and urged both leaders to compromise in order to “get it done”.Putin has indicated that with Trump’s focus primarily on Iran, the European Union could play a role in negotiations—mainly in convincing Ukraine to surrender key territories. Putin’s maximalist stance maintains that Ukraine must withdraw from four regions primarily occupied by Russia—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—in addition to demanding that Ukraine abandon its efforts to join NATO. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected the prospect of ceding territory to Russia and stated that it is precisely what will enable future Russian invasions, especially given the 2022 invasion coming eight years after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Past peace talks hosted in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, and Geneva have failed to bring the conflict to a close, and in recent months, ceasefire negotiations have been stalled. The Ukrainian leader had previously proposed an in-person meeting with Putin, to which the Kremlin responded by offering that Zelenskyy travel to Moscow to meet with the Russian President. Zelenskyy, dismissing the prospect of talks in Moscow, named Switzerland, Turkey, and Middle Eastern countries as potential settings for the leader-to-leader meeting.The Ukrainian president pointed out Russia’s growing dependence on North Korea and China, citing Moscow’s aspirations to sustain the conflict into 2028 and potentially draw Belarus more directly into the war. He addressed the recent Ukrainian air campaign against Russia, saying that Ukrainian long-range drones “paid a visit” to St. Petersburg. “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,” Zelenskyy said of the Russian people, claiming they, too, grow frustrated with the war and its effects—including petrol shortages, rising prices, and the dragging nature of the conflict. Zelenskyy squarely put the ball in Putin’s court, emphasizing that “the choice is yours now.” He ended with the stark declaration, “You can stop your war,” signaling that any progress toward peace ultimately depends on Moscow’s willingness to negotiate.(Edited by Archishman Ganguly)
