Zelenskyy seizes opportunity as Russia concedes weaknesses in air defence

In depth

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a face-to-face meeting withing Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The invitation came in a rare open letter from Zelenskyy, who made clear he will not meet in Russia.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter to the Russian leader on Friday.

The letter came shortly after the Kremlin chief had conceded Russia needed to strengthen its air defences amid a spate of Ukrainian attacks.

The Kremlin said Putin had not yet been shown the letter, but that Zelenskyy could meet Putin in Moscow "any time" — a proposal that the Ukrainian leader preemptively ruled out in his letter.

"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelenskyy said in the letter.

"I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting," he said.

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"Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added.

Zelenskyy published the letter a day after Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg, Putin's home city hosting a major international economic forum this week.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a meeting with the ex-KGB spy, saying only face-to-face talks will yield an agreement on territory.

Direct addresses from Zelenskyy to the Russian leader are rare.

Months of US-led negotiations have failed to bring the sides close to an agreement.

Russia, which invaded in 2022, has demanded Ukraine pull out of its eastern Donbas region — large parts of which Ukraine's army still controls — as a precondition to peace talks.

Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg just before Zelenskyy's appeal was published, Putin had repeated his frequent questioning of the Ukrainian leader's legitimacy.

He said the question of whether Zelenskyy was Ukraine's legitimate leader needed "analysis", after his initial five-year term expired in 2024.

Martial law prohibits elections during wartime in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy has offered to stage a vote or referendum on a final peace deal if a full ceasefire is in place.

Putin has said he would only meet Zelenskyy to finalise an already agreed deal, rejecting calls to meet before then.

"Zelenskyy can come at any time to Moscow," state media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying after the letter was published.

'Strengthen' air defences

Ukraine has intensified its long-range retaliatory strikes on Russian energy and military targets in recent months — attacks it calls a fair response to nightly barrages by Russia's army.

"If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence," Zelenskyy said in the letter.

Putin on Friday hailed his forces achievements on the battlefield in the face of growing confidence in Ukraine.

When asked about whether Russia's offensive against Ukraine had become a "strategic disaster", Putin said that Russia was "advancing along the entire line of contact".

"We are absolutely ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means," he added.

The pace of Russia's advance has slowed since late 2025, and recent data shows Ukraine has regained ground against Russia.

Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost to Russian forces in May for the second straight month, according to an analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) by news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Putin also accepted that Russia needs to improve its air defence systems, speaking a day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil terminal and naval base in Saint Petersburg, just as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — dubbed Russian Davos — opened.

"Russia has an air defence system. Yes, we must improve it. Yes, we must strengthen it. And we will do so," the Russian leader said.

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