Enough war - Zelenskyy writes open letter to Putin proposing a meeting
Kyiv • UNN
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written an open letter to Vladimir Putin. The President of Ukraine proposes to schedule a meeting and determine its date.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote an open letter to the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, proposing to schedule a meeting and set a date, UNN reports.
"When you took the lead of Russia more than 26 years ago, many in Ukraine viewed you positively. That was the case. It is now in the past. Today, the absolute majority of Ukrainians react positively to the fact that our long-range drones visited the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, covering a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you well know, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities. 26 years of your rule have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions on trade turnover and other civilian issues, our nations have moved to the topic of exclusively strikes and losses," Zelenskyy writes.
He adds that Putin has spent almost his entire presidential term at war against Ukraine, and regardless of what he says about NATO, geopolitics, and the Russian language, this war is Putin's personal choice—a war without a real reason.
"This is exactly how history will remember it. This time could have passed quite 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—the fact that the war brings more and more negativity to Russia. They don't like our drones and missiles. They don't like the gasoline shortage and the constant rise in prices. They don't like the constant bans.
They don't like your intention to organize a second wave of mobilization to expand the war to another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against some other neighboring countries of Russia. They don't like that there is no end in sight to your war. Yes, you can still force Russians to exist 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 say yourself, 'everything must be calculated'," Zelenskyy notes.
The President emphasized that yesterday he received a report on Russian losses in May, which reached over 30,000 killed and wounded, and this figure holds almost every month.
"Regarding each of your losses, we have video confirmation—this is not baseless. We know that in your losses at the front, 63 percent are killed, and only 37 percent are wounded. In the 21st century, armies cannot afford such a balance. In the future, the share of those killed will increase. Not that we in Ukraine worry about Russians. After everything your war has brought to Ukraine. But I care about Ukrainians. We are losing our people, and every loss of ours 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 a great deal. Just as it matters that you already regularly, once 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 permanent war. We know well that it is immeasurably better without war. We want to achieve this. I am sure that the majority of Russians are ready to give a positive answer to this, and you know it," the Head of State added.
Zelenskyy also notes that many did not believe Ukraine would hold out for so long in defense, including Putin, who did not believe that Russia would not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine and did not predict that everything would go this far.
"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 success for those who try to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly weakened and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced without substantial changes in your position regarding Ukraine. Orban's example demonstrates the disgrace that awaits those who choose to help Russia in the war against us. Ukraine has gone through difficult winters when you tried to destroy our energy sector. We stood firm, and even in the darkness, the resilience of Ukrainians remained. We brought the war to your territory, and you would not have managed this without the help of North Korea. You are the first ruler of Russia who was forced to turn to Pyongyang for help. And today you are completely dependent on China—also for the first time in Russia's history. You expected that Ukrainians would not have enough strength to defend themselves, but now our guys are helping to build defenses for our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf. You hoped for internal turmoil in Ukraine, but it was your own military formations that rebelled against you. June 23rd will be another anniversary, and silence will not erase this fact from history. And it is your own government officials, businessmen, and propagandists who are now looking at you with obvious fatigue. The world sees this. The world has no fatigue from Ukraine, which you long counted on. But there is fatigue from Russia even among those in the global world who help you bypass 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 it goes, the greater the fatigue from you will be," the President noted.
He emphasized that Ukraine has intelligence documents showing that Russia is currently considering war plans for 2027 and 2028, and our intelligence also knows that the Russian Federation wants to drag Belarus into the war.
"We see that you are playing some kind of game with Transnistria. Your propagandists threaten all of Russia's neighbors in 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. It must be done honestly, with dignity, and with a guarantee that there will be no new flare-up of war. We see that the US is giving all its attention to the issue of Iran, and it is wrong to just wait for their attention to turn to the war in Europe. Ukraine proposes to end the war in a format between us and you. I propose a meeting to you. Everyone 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, countries of the Arab world—many can and want to host this meeting.
It is the leaders who decide key issues—it has always been and will always be so. I propose to set a clear date for the meeting. We heard that you were promised a resolution of some things concerning Ukraine and Europe in Alaska. But you see that Ukrainian and European issues are not decided in Anchorage. Other designated participants can join the bilateral track started between us. Since the war is ongoing in Europe, and we in Ukraine need security guarantees, and you want security guarantees for yourself, the participation of those who can truly act as guarantors seems logical," the Ukrainian President adds.
According to the President, Ukraine had many treaties with Russia that did not work, so it is necessary to find primarily bilateral answers to the existing questions and not hide from difficult issues behind any formulations, technical groups, or wasting time in shuttle diplomacy.
"With your war, you have forever separated Ukraine and Russia. The front line now is the line from which diplomacy must begin. Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. And this is standard practice, which is now confirmed by the circumstances surrounding Iran. An attempt to establish real silence is the best start to begin talking to each other. We believe that this will not just be an attempt, but a real ceasefire, if you want it. You know that the United States can provide monitoring of the ceasefire along the line of contact. Ukraine is ready for an exchange of prisoners of war on an 'all for all' basis, and this could be a good prologue to the end of the war. Serious steps must be taken to return the civilians and children who were taken away during the war. We must determine what the future will be for all subsequent generations of Ukrainians and Russians. If you personally do not come to the idea in your thoughts 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 too will 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 toward such fatigue. You can stop your war. Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war. Glory to Ukraine," the President concluded.