In Public Letter, Ukraine's president Calls on Putin for Direct Negotiations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called for face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The letter, the first public message Zelenskyy 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,” Zelenskyy wrote. U.S. President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy 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.