Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s offer to meet and reaffirms Ukraine war aims

Russian president describes letter from his Ukrainian counterpart as rude and says he can no point in face-to-face talks

Vladimir Putin has rejected an offer from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold a face-to-face meeting, insisting instead that Russia will achieve its war goals in Ukraine, including seizing all of the eastern Donbas region.

Speaking at the Saint Petersburg economic forum, the Russian president described the open letter from his Ukrainian counterpart containing the offer as rude. He refused to use Zelenskyy’s name, referring to him only as its author. Asked if they could meet to discuss an end to the conflict, Putin replied: “So far I see no point.”

Zelenskyy’s letter, which was published on Thursday, proposed a meeting in a third country such as Switzerland or Turkey. It said diplomacy should start from the currently frontline and that Ukraine was ready for a full ceasefire while negotiations took place.

The letter also alluded to Russia’s recent military setbacks and the growing fuel shortages in Crimea caused by Ukrainian attacks on crucial supply routes. Hours before the forum opened on Wednesday, Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg’s oil terminal , sending black smoke billowing into the sky.

Putin, however, shrugged off the embarrassing strikes on his home city and said Moscow’s territorial demands were unchanged. He said Russia controlled all of Luhansk oblast – a claim Kyiv denies – and more than 85 per cent of Donetsk oblast. He repeated his demand that Ukraine also give up all of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Calling for “long-term peace”, he asked: “What is this letter about? Is it a means to create an environment for a personal meeting? Or is it meant to make sure no personal meeting takes place. I think it’s the second.” Speaking to Russian troops, he said: “Keep working brothers”.

Zelenskyy said Putin’s rejection showed the Kremlin had no wish to end the conflict. “Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war. Everyone heard the response. A weak response,” he said in his nightly video address. “I think this response will have disappointed many in the world.”

Putin acknowledged Russia needed to strengthen its air defences but played down Ukraine’s increasingly successful campaign against strategic targets. Ukrainian drones hit five Russian cargo ships in the occupied southern ports of Mariupol and Berdiansk, and in the sea of Azov, overnight on Thursday.

The head of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, said the vessels had been transporting military fuel and stolen Ukrainian grain. Russia said five sailors from Azerbaijan were killed. Video from their ship showed extensive damage and its bridge wrecked.

Zelenskyy’s latest peace offer won approval from key allies, including Donald Trump and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Macron, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in London in an effort to inject fresh momentum into attempts to end the war.

Observers suggested the letter had been written with Ukraine’s allies in mind and with the objective of needling Putin. It included a pointed reminder to Russia’s president of the lessons for its rulers from history. “When Russia grows tired, change comes,” it noted.

A US delegation headed by the chair of the country’s fine arts commission, Rodney Mims Cook Jr, attended the St Petersburg forum. Cook, who is in charge of Trump’s White House ballroom project, passed on the US president’s regards to Putin.

From a position in the front row, he said: “President Vladimir Putin , it’s very nice to see you ... I love this city and I think you are aware of that. You have a beautiful hometown. I do give a good hello from your friend President Trump.“

Addressing the plenary session, Putin shrugged off claims the Russian economy was falling apart because of the high costs of the war. The Kremlin’s offensive has put the country’s finances under immense strain, with rising prices, tax hikes and the highest borrowing costs in two decades hitting many citizens hard.

The economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026, its first quarterly slump in three years, as strain from the war and western sanctions mounts. “We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed,” Putin said.

“We have descended to the same level at which eurozone countries have been living through for the past few years.” Russia was pursuing a sovereigneconomy, he said, adding: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” referencing the US writer Mark Twain.

Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure in recent months, hitting oil depots, refineries and export facilities and threatening to dent Moscow’s most important income stream. By freezing Russian assets abroad, western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, Putin said.

“The sanctions and blocking of Russia’s sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,” he said. “Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as western financial and payment systems.”