Putin rejects Zelensky's proposal for a meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a proposal from his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, for face-to-face talks to end the war, calling it pointless and calling on his country's military to "get the job done."

"I see no reason to meet. This only makes sense for the Ukrainian side," Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 5, adding that a possible ceasefire agreement would only help Kiev stop the Russian ground offensive.

Putin's statements come a day after Zelensky published an open letter, calling on the Russian president to stop the war, which is now in its fifth year, and hinting that Kiev has no intention of surrendering.

"Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire for the entire duration of the negotiations," Zelensky wrote on June 4, suggesting that the situation along the front line, which has remained largely unchanged, is not expected to change in Russia's favor in the near future.

Zelensky's call for the resumption of the peace process comes after diplomatic efforts led by US President Donald Trump appeared to have stalled in recent months, especially since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

Washington has been trying for months to balance the positions of Kiev and Moscow to end the war, but the two sides remain far apart in positions, with the Kremlin continuing to adhere to its tough position and offering no compromise on control of Ukraine's key eastern region, Donetsk.

While diplomacy appears to have lost momentum and has been largely limited to the exchange of prisoners of war, the fighting on the front lines and mutual military attacks have shown no signs of abating.

Although military analysts and research groups reported that Russia's recent spring offensives have yielded little or no territorial gains for Moscow, 2026 reportedly marked the first time in several years that Ukrainian forces regained more territory than they lost.

"You constantly postpone your deadlines for the occupation of our regions, especially the Donetsk region. And you will not occupy it this year either," Zelensky's letter said.

However, Putin has presented a different picture of developments on the front lines. Before his speech in St. Petersburg, he claimed that the Russian army was continuing to advance in Ukraine. At the forum, he reiterated that position.

"Military operations will end as soon as we achieve the goals we have set for ourselves," Putin said.

While Zelensky said Ukraine had weathered its "most difficult" winter - during which Russian attacks hit energy and civilian infrastructure, leaving thousands of residents without heat and electricity - Moscow has continued its attacks on Ukrainian cities well into the spring.

Earlier in the week, Russian attacks on major Ukrainian cities, including Kiev and the southeastern city of Dnipro, killed and injured dozens of people.

While Zelensky's letter constitutes a rare attempt at direct communication with Putin, it also noted that Ukraine has responded to the attacks, notably through long-range drone strikes, which threatened Russia's Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square and forced the Kremlin to curtail the celebrations.

Hitting targets up to 1,000 kilometers from its border, Ukraine has intensified attacks deep inside Russian territory on energy and military infrastructure, aiming to limit Moscow's revenues from rising global oil prices, which have increased following the start of the US war with Iran and Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked about the issue during a plenary session in St. Petersburg on June 5, Putin acknowledged that these attacks have harmed Russia economically to some extent, but claimed that they do not pose an immediate threat to the country's economy or potential investors.

Putin said he considered Zelensky's letter "rude" and that it was "not the way to organize a face-to-face meeting."

"We should address ourselves not to the authors of this letter, nor to the fans of the epistolary genre, but to our warriors on the front lines," he said. "Do your job, brothers."/ REL