Translated with AI
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "I propose setting a clear date for the meeting," reads an open letter to Putin calling for an end to Russia's war against Ukraine, which was published on the Ukrainian president's official website on Thursday, June 4.
According to Zelenskyy, there are a number of countries that traditionally host leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. "Switzerland, Turkey, the Arab world—many are able and willing to host this meeting. It is the leaders who decide key issues—that has always been and always will be the case," he emphasized.
The Ukrainian President also expressed the view that other participants, including European representatives, who could influence the situation and act as security guarantors, could join the bilateral negotiation process. According to him, "Ukrainian and European issues are not resolved in Anchorage."
"The front line now is the line from which diplomacy must begin," Zelensky noted.
In the letter, the Ukrainian head of state stated that the fighting was increasingly unsatisfactory for Russians, and the war itself was bringing Russia ever more negative consequences. "And now your own officials, businessmen, and propagandists are looking at you with obvious weariness," he wrote, reiterating that Russia's monthly losses on the front exceed 30,000 killed and seriously wounded.
"Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice—a war without a real cause. That's how history will remember it," Zelenskyy noted.
At the same time, he warned that if Putin does not come to the conclusion that it is necessary to end the war, then he will have to “fight much harder for his own existence—not Russia’s, but his own.”
"And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history, which you know well: when Russia gets tired, change happens," the message reads.
The Ukrainian president's address was published on the day of Vladimir Putin's address to journalists at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). There, the Russian president touched on the use of the Oreshnik missile system on May 24 in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast.
"They hit the 'shed' to see how the blocks fell. This is necessary for future use of the weapon," Putin claimed. According to him, "there has never been a single combat use of the Oreshnik missile in the true sense of the word."
The Russian leader also stated that Russia's control over Donbass does not contradict the settlement of the conflict.
"First of all, one does not exclude the other—controlling all of Donbas and concluding a deal are not mutually exclusive," he said.
According to Putin, Russia is ready for peace, taking into account the proposals discussed with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed young Russians and their families. He emphasized that tens of thousands of victims are not just abstract figures.
