Zelenskyy has written an open letter to Putin and proposed a face-to-face meeting to bring the war to an end

Open letter

To the President of the Russian Federation

from the President of Ukraine

When you took the helm of Russia more than 26 years ago, many in Ukraine viewed you favourably. That was the case. That is now in the past.

Now, the vast majority of Ukrainians view positively the fact that our long-range drones attended the opening of your forum in St Petersburg, having travelled a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres. As you well know, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities.

Your 26 years in power have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions of trade and other civilian matters, our peoples have moved on to topics of nothing but strikes and losses.

You have spent almost half of your 26 years in power in Russia at war with Ukraine.

Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice – a war without a real cause. That is exactly how history will remember it.

This time could have been spent quite differently.

We often hear that the war suits you. Of course, not when it comes to the security of your residence in Valdai or the parade in Moscow. Your own life is precious to you.

But now we can all see that this is finally ceasing to suit the Russians – the fact that the war is bringing Russia more and more negative consequences.

They don’t like our drones and missiles.

They don’t like the petrol shortages and constantly rising prices.

They don’t like the constant restrictions.

They don’t like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilisation to expand the war in another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against other countries – Russia’s neighbours.

They don’t like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.

Yes, you can still force Russians to live like this.

But your resources are dwindling significantly.

You will not have enough money or political clout to continue buying the loyalty of Russians, as you have done for 26 years. We will do everything to ensure the world takes care of this.

As you yourself say, ‘everything must be calculated’.

Yesterday I received a report on your army’s losses on the front line in Ukraine in May. Once again, there are over 30,000 Russians killed and seriously wounded. We keep track of exactly this figure every month, and we have video evidence for every single one of your losses – this is not mere hearsay.

We know that 63 per cent of your frontline casualties are killed, and only 37 per cent are wounded. In the 21st century, armies cannot afford such a ratio. In future, the proportion of those killed will rise.

It’s not that we in Ukraine are worried about the Russians. After all that your war has brought to Ukraine.

But I care about Ukrainians.

We are losing our people, and every loss hurts us deeply. And even when the ratio of Ukrainian casualties to Russian ones is one to five or one to six, it still matters greatly.

Just as significant is the fact that you are now regularly, every few months, postponing the deadlines for the capture of our regions, primarily the Donetsk region. You will not capture it this year either.

But we in Ukraine do not want a constant war. We know full well that life is infinitely better without war. We want to achieve that.

I am confident that the majority of Russians are ready to give a positive response to this, and you know it.

Many did not believe that Ukraine would hold out for so long in its defence.

You didn’t believe it. And those who advised you didn’t believe it either. That was a mistake.

You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine and did not foresee that things would go this far. But here we are – in the fifth year of a full-scale conflict.

Do not be afraid to end the war – that is the main thing required of you right now.

Ukraine is preserving its independence. And it will continue to do so. Despite any other predictions.

We have united many around the world in defence of Ukraine and against you. We have found weapons and funding.

We are receiving support; you are facing sanctions. And this will continue until there is justice for Ukraine – the justice we want and which can be achieved.

We will not allow those who are trying to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly weakened and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced without any substantial change in your position regarding Ukraine to succeed. Orbán’s example shows the disgrace that befalls those who choose to aid Russia in its war against us.

Ukraine has endured harsh winters whilst you tried to destroy our energy sector. We have stood firm, and even in the darkness, the resilience of Ukrainians has remained.

We have brought the war onto your territory, and you would not have been able to cope with this without North Korea’s help. You are the first Russian leader to have been forced to turn to Pyongyang for help.

And today you are completely dependent on China – also for the first time in Russian history.

You reckoned that Ukrainians would lack the strength to defend themselves, but now our lads are helping to build defences for our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf.

You were hoping for internal unrest in Ukraine, but it was your own military units that rebelled against you. 23 June will mark another anniversary, and silence will not erase this fact from history.

And now your own government officials, businesspeople and propagandists are looking at you with obvious weariness. The world sees this.

The world is not tired of Ukraine, as you had long counted on. But there is fatigue with Russia even among those in the global community who help you circumvent sanctions and keep the economy afloat.

You cannot fail to notice this. After 26 years, age is beginning to take its toll. The longer this goes on, the greater the weariness will be with you too.

We have seen intelligence documents showing that you are currently considering war plans for as far as 2027 and 2028. We also know that you are hoping that ballistic missiles will achieve for you what everything else has failed to do. You want to drag Belarus even further into the war, and now we are forced to prepare for that as well. We can see that you are playing some sort of game with Transnistria. Your propagandists are threatening all of Russia’s neighbours in one way or another. Do you really want to go through all this?

The choice is now yours.

Enough of the war.

Ukraine proposes to end this war.

It must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.

We see that the United States is focusing all its attention on the issue of Iran, and it is wrong simply to wait until the war in Europe comes to the fore of their attention.

Ukraine proposes to end the war in a format between us and you.

I propose a meeting with you.

Everyone has heard your representatives saying, with a smile, that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after 26 years of this, a Ukrainian leader has nothing to do in your capital, just as a Russian leader has nothing to do in Kyiv.

There are countries that traditionally host leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Turkey, countries of the Arab world – many are able and willing to host this meeting.

It is the leaders who resolve key issues – that is how it has always been and always will be.

I propose setting a clear date for the meeting.

We have heard that you were promised in Alaska that certain matters concerning Ukraine and Europe would be resolved. But you can see that Ukrainian and European issues are not resolved in Anchorage.

Other designated participants may join the bilateral track we have initiated.

Since the war is ongoing in Europe, and we in Ukraine need security guarantees, and you yourselves want security guarantees, it seems logical to involve those who can truly act as guarantors.

We believe that Europe’s participation is necessary – those who truly have the capacity to influence the situation.

We believe that the United States must be part of the process, and this is what could determine the configuration of the new security architecture in our part of the world.

We have already had experience of many treaties with Russia and the Minsk agreements, which have not worked. Therefore, we must first and foremost find our own bilateral answers to the questions at hand, and not hide from difficult issues behind any wording, technical groups or time-wasting shuttle diplomacy.

With your war, you have forever divided Ukraine and Russia.

The front line is now the line from which diplomacy must begin.

Ukraine is ready to cease fire completely – for the duration of the negotiations. And this is standard practice, as the current circumstances surrounding Iran confirm. An attempt to establish a genuine ceasefire is the best way to start talking to one another. We believe that this will not be merely an attempt, but a genuine ceasefire, if you so wish.

You know that the United States can provide monitoring of the ceasefire along the line of contact.

Ukraine is ready for a prisoner of war exchange on an ‘all for all’ basis, and this could be a good prelude to ending the war.

Serious steps must be taken to return civilians and children who were taken away during the war.

We must determine what the future will hold for all future generations of Ukrainians and Russians.

If you personally do not come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its very existence. We will have those who support us.

But you too will have to fight much harder for your own survival – not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or from Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows weary, change happens.

We can work towards bringing about such fatigue.

You can stop your war.

Eternal memory to all whose lives have been taken by this war.
 

Glory to Ukraine!

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