Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky directly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine-Russia War and begin direct talks in a letter published on Thursday night.
"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting," he wrote.
"You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine, and you did not foresee that things would go this far. Yet here we all are — in the fifth year of this full-scale war. Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now."
"We must determine what kind of future awaits the generations of Ukrainians and Russians who will come after us. If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence. We will have those who support us," Zelensky added.
"But you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own existence — not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or from Ukraine. It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes."
The Kremlin stated that it had seen the letter and would review it later with Putin.
Putin says Trump's ideas could bring peace in Ukraine, calls on Kyiv to compromise
Putin said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump's proposals for peace in Ukraine could end the fighting, but said Kyiv needed to compromise — and that he saw no signs of that, so was ready to fight on to victory.
Speaking to foreign media editors on the sidelines of Russia's annual economic forum in what is the fifth year of Europe's deadliest land war since World War Two, Putin said Russia would defeat Ukraine on the battlefield if necessary.
But he said it was also ready to end the war via diplomacy, and to honor unspecified compromises he said had been agreed with Trump at a summit in Alaska last year.
He showed no signs of changing his stance that for the war to end, Ukraine must surrender the rest of its eastern Donbas region - a demand that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected as akin to capitulation.
"The offensive is ongoing on a daily basis. At present, the Russian Federation has taken full control of the Luhansk People’s Republic - 100%. And Russia has brought over 85% of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic under its control," he said, referring to two of the four regions in Ukraine which Moscow claimed as its own in 2022 in a move Kyiv and most Western countries rejected as an illegal land grab.
"We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means. Specifically, on the basis we discussed during our meeting with President Trump in Anchorage. Russia agrees to those compromises we discussed in Anchorage. The Ukrainian side must also agree to these compromises. Then the conflict will quickly come to a natural conclusion," Putin said.
Putin said Russia's own resources to wage and win the war were strengthening and that it had weapons which Ukraine simply did not possess. While he conceded that Moscow needed to do more to protect itself against Ukrainian drones, he made it clear that he thought time was on Russia's side and that Ukraine did not have the manpower to prevail.
"And there is one more thing that is of paramount importance: the patriotism and resolve of the Russian people, which are essential to achieving the objectives and tasks of the special military operation," said Putin, using the phrase Russia uses to describe its war.