Zelenskyy's Open Letter Urges Talks With Putin

The Ukrainian leader appears to be seizing a pivotal moment. Kyiv has regained battlefield leverage through long-range drone strikes — including an attack on an oil terminal in Putin's home city of St Petersburg hours before the country's flagship economic forum opened — while Russia's Finance Ministry has warned of a widening budget deficit and rising pressure on military spending. Washington's attention has meanwhile shifted to the war with Iran, and Zelenskyy openly admitted in the letter that it would be "wrong to simply wait" for the United States to return its focus to Europe. Officials from Britain, France and Germany are reportedly preparing a parallel initiative to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

Reactions have been cautious. US President Donald Trump said the meeting "would be great" but insisted both sides must make compromises. Putin, speaking to foreign journalists in St Petersburg, said he was "willing to reach an agreement" but again questioned Zelenskyy's legal authority to sign one, repeating a Russian line that Zelenskyy's term expired in May 2024 — although elections have been suspended under martial law. Separately, the US House of Representatives voted 226-195 to provide more than one billion US dollars in security aid for Kyiv and sanction parts of the Russian economy, though the bill faces tougher prospects in the Senate. Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sybiha called the letter "a serious and meaningful proposal" and urged a substantive reply.