Overview
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter on Thursday proposing a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin in a neutral country and offering a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations.
- Zelensky named Switzerland, Türkiye, and Arab states as possible hosts, asked the United States and European powers to act as security guarantors, and proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange and return of civilians and children as confidence measures.
- The Kremlin said Putin had not yet read the letter but that Zelensky could travel to Moscow, a suggestion Kyiv rejected, leaving diplomacy possible but without commitment from Moscow to Zelensky’s conditions.
- Speaking at the St. Petersburg forum, Putin said he would consider deals based on compromises he discussed with President Trump while insisting Kyiv must accept territorial concessions and warning Russia could keep fighting if needed.
- The appeal follows months of intensified Ukrainian long-range strikes into Russian territory and stalled battlefield advances for Moscow, a pattern that shifts leverage, raises civilian risks from continued attacks, and reshapes who might mediate any talks.