Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a direct open letter to Vladimir Putin, accusing the Russian leader of personally choosing a war that has exhausted Russia, hardened Ukraine’s independence, and left Moscow increasingly dependent on foreign backers.
In the letter, addressed to the president of the Russian Federation, Zelensky said relations between Ukraine and Russia had been transformed during Putin’s 26 years in power from civilian issues such as trade into a relationship dominated by “strikes and losses.” He said Putin had spent nearly half of that time waging war against Ukraine and rejected Moscow’s stated justifications for the conflict.
“Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice — a war without a real cause,” Zelensky wrote. “That is how history will remember it.”
The Ukrainian president said his country did not want a permanent war and proposed ending the conflict through direct engagement between the two leaders. He called for a meeting in a neutral country, naming Switzerland, Turkey, and Arab states as possible hosts, while dismissing Moscow and Kyiv as unsuitable venues.
“After these 26 years, there is nothing for a Ukrainian leader to do in your capital — just as there is nothing for a Russian leader to do in Kyiv,” he wrote.
Zelensky said the front line should be the starting point for diplomacy and offered a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations. He also proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange and said serious steps were needed to return civilians and children taken during the war.
He argued that Russia’s position was weakening, saying Russians were becoming less comfortable with the impact of the war, including drone and missile strikes, fuel shortages, rising prices, restrictions, and the possibility of further mobilization. He further claimed Moscow would not have enough money or political capital to continue buying domestic loyalty as it had done for more than two decades.
The letter also said Russian forces had suffered more than 30,000 killed or seriously wounded in May, with Ukraine claiming video confirmation of the losses. Zelensky said Ukraine was also losing people, adding that “every loss is painful,” even if Russian casualties were far higher.
He warned Putin that Ukraine had endured the invasion, maintained international backing, and brought the war onto Russian territory, adding that Moscow had turned to North Korea for help and had become dependent on China, while sanctions and international fatigue with Russia would continue.
The Russian president was accused of preparing to extend the war into 2027 and 2028, seeking to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict, and creating pressure around Transnistria. He said Ukraine would continue fighting if Putin did not decide to end the war.
“The choice is yours now,” Zelensky wrote. “Enough of war. Ukraine proposes to end this war.”
The letter ended with a warning that Russia’s own history showed what could happen when the country became exhausted by its rulers.
In recent days, the government in Kyiv has been floating the notion that an end to the conflict by November could be realistic, adding that battlefield conditions over the winter could be the catalyst for an end to the fighting.
Following significant Russian strikes last week on major cities, including Kyiv, Kyrylo Budanov, who replaced the disgraced Andriy Yermak as head of the presidential office in Ukraine at the beginning of the year, said Zelensky was seeking to end the war “as soon as possible… preferably before winter.”
“In my opinion, this is absolutely correct, timely, and realistic,” he added.
The Ukrainian president has recently met with opposition figures such as Petro Poroshenko in an attempt to open a dialogue with Ukrainian politicians that could serve as a way to offer a unified approach to peace negotiations that would eventually lead to elections.
