Zelenskyy wrote an open letter to Putin: proposed a personal meeting in a neutral country to end the war

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

Twenty-six years of your rule have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions of trade and other civil matters, our peoples have moved to topics exclusively about hits and losses.

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

No matter what you say about NATO, geopolitics, and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice—a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it.

This time could have passed very differently.

We often hear that the war suits you. Of course, not in cases concerning the security of your residence in Valdai or the parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you.

But now we all see that this is finally ceasing to suit Russians—that the war brings more and more negativity to Russia.

They do not like our drones and missiles.

They do not like the fuel shortage and constant price increases.

They do not like the constant bans.

They do not like your intention to arrange a second wave of mobilization to expand the war in another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against some other countries—Russia's neighbors.

They do not like that your war has no visible end.

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

But your resources are significantly shrinking.

You will not have enough money and political power 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 counted."

Yesterday I received a report on your army's losses on the front in Ukraine in May. Again, it is over 30,000 killed and seriously wounded Russians. We maintain exactly this figure every month, and for each of your losses, we have video confirmation—this is not unfounded.

We know that in your losses on the front, 63 percent are killed, and only 37 percent are wounded. In the 21st century, armies cannot afford such a balance. The share of the killed will increase further.

Not that we in Ukraine worry about Russians after all that your war has brought to Ukraine.

But I care about Ukrainians.

We lose our people, and every loss hurts us. And even when the level of Ukrainian losses is one to five or one to six compared to Russian losses, it still matters greatly.

It also matters that you regularly, every few months, postpone the deadlines for capturing 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 well that life without war is infinitely better. We want to achieve this.

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

Many did not believe Ukraine would hold out so long in defense.

You did not believe. And those who advised you also did not believe. That was a mistake.

You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine and did not predict that everything would go this far. But we are all here—at the fifth year of full-scale confrontation.

Do not be afraid to exit the war—that is the main thing you need to do now.

Ukraine preserves independence. And will preserve it. Despite any other forecasts.

We have united many in the world to defend Ukraine and against you. We have found weapons and finances.

We receive support, you receive sanctions. And this will continue until there is justice for Ukraine, which we want and which can be achieved.

We will not allow those who try to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly eased and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced without substantial changes in your position on Ukraine to succeed. The example of Orban shows what shame awaits those who choose to help Russia in the war against us.

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

We brought the war to your territory, and you would not have coped with this without North Korea's help. You are the first Russian ruler forced to seek help in Pyongyang.

And today you are completely dependent on China—also for the first time in Russia's history.

You counted on Ukrainians lacking the strength to defend themselves, but now our guys help build defenses for our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf.

You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine, but your own military formations rebelled against you. June 23 will be another anniversary, and silence will not erase this fact from history.

And now your own officials, businessmen, and propagandists look at you with obvious fatigue. The world sees this.

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

You cannot fail to notice this. After 26 years, old age has begun to take its toll. The further, the greater the fatigue with you will be.

We have seen intelligence documents that you are now considering war plans for 2027 and 2028. We also know that you hope that ballistics will do for you what everything else has not. You want to drag Belarus even more into the war, and now we are forced to prepare for this as well. We see that you are playing some game with Transnistria. Your propagandists threaten all of Russia's neighbors one way or another. Do you really want to go through all this?

The choice is now yours.

Enough war.

Ukraine proposes to end this war.

This must be done honestly, with dignity, and guarantee that there will be no new outbreak of war.

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

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

I propose a meeting.

Everyone has heard how your representatives, smiling, said that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after such 26 years, 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, Arab countries—many can and want to host this meeting.

It is the leaders who decide key issues—that has been and will always be so.

I propose to set a clear date for the meeting.

We heard that you were promised at Alaska to resolve some issues concerning Ukraine and Europe. But you see that Ukrainian and European issues are not resolved in Anchorage.

Other designated participants may join the bilateral track started between us.

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

We believe that Europe's participation is necessary—those who really have the capacity to influence the situation.

We believe that the United States must be involved in the process, and this can define the configuration of the new security architecture in our part of the world.

We have already had experience with many agreements with Russia and the Minsk agreements, which did not work. Therefore, we need to find primarily our bilateral answers to the questions that exist and not hide from difficult questions behind any formulations, technical groups, or wasting time in shuttle diplomacy.

Your war has forever divided Ukraine and Russia.

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

Ukraine is ready to completely cease fire—for the time negotiations last. This is standard practice, confirmed now by the circumstances around Iran. An attempt to establish real silence is the best start to begin talking to each other. We believe this will not just be an attempt but a real ceasefire if you want it.

You know that monitoring the ceasefire along the line of contact can be provided by the United States.

Ukraine is ready for a prisoner exchange on the principle of "all for all," and this can be a good prologue to ending the war.

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

The future for all subsequent generations of Ukrainians and Russians must be determined.

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

But you will also have to fight much harder for your existence—not Russia's, but your personal one. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history that you know well: when Russia gets tired, changes happen.

We can work towards such fatigue.

You can stop your war.

Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war."

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