- Ukraine calls for a full ceasefire during the peace talks.
- Zelenskiy warns that Kiev remains ready to continue the fight.
- US seen able to monitor ceasefire lines.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, suggesting that the two leaders meet to agree on an end to more than four years of war and warning that Kiev was ready to fight on.
In his letter, which the president’s office said had been sent to other countries, including the United States, Zelenskiy said the majority of Russians had grown tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages and were ready for peace.
Zelenskiy said that with the US focused on the conflict in Iran, “it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention”.
And the road to peace, he said, had to start at the front line, “the line from which diplomacy must begin”. Ukraine, Zelenskiy said, stood for “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. This is standard practice.”
He said the US “has the ability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where hostilities cease”.
Zelenskiy suggested setting a clear date for a meeting, saying several countries had “traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace”, referring to Switzerland, Turkiye and the countries of the Arab world.
“Do not be afraid to take the way out of this war. This is the most important thing that is required of you now,” Zelenskiy wrote.
“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I propose a meeting… If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence.”
And continued war, Zelenskiy suggested, could threaten Putin’s personal position.
“It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia gets tired, change comes.”
In Moscow, the Kremlin said it had seen Zelenskiy’s letter and that Putin would be briefed on it.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote the X and said the letter would also be sent officially through diplomatic channels.
Sybiha described the letter as “a serious and meaningful proposal to end the war … with clear, feasible steps and an invitation to a personal meeting.”
“We expect a meaningful response to this proposal. It is time to end this war. It is time to choose peace.”
