Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a direct and public appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging face-to-face negotiations in a letter that also delivered a scathing critique of the Russian leader’s 26-year tenure.

This marks the first time Mr Zelensky has publicly addressed Mr Putin directly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Ukrainian leader’s message underscored a recognition of shifting US priorities, stating it would be misguided to simply await the Trump administration’s renewed focus on ending the conflict in Ukraine while its attention remains heavily directed towards the war in Iran.

“I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky wrote.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelensky met. “They should get it done,” Trump said.

Asked what concessions he had urged Putin to make to end the war, Trump declined to provide details but said both sides would need to compromise.

“They’re going to both make compromises,” he said. “I suggested those compromises.”

Zelensky appeared to be trying to seize a pivotal moment in the war, as Ukraine has begun to regain some battlefield leverage largely through improved long-range strike capabilities that have complicated Russia’s advances.

At the same time, Moscow has intensified its deadly aerial campaign across Ukraine, seeking to exploit Kyiv’s shortages and continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.

He said the talks could be hosted by a neutral third country, ruling out both Moscow and Kyiv as venues and suggested Switzerland, Turkey or Arab states as possible hosts for negotiations.

“It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

He said Ukrainian intelligence indicated Russia was considering plans to prolong the war into 2027 and 2028, while increasingly relying on ballistic missile strikes to achieve what its ground campaign had failed to accomplish.

Zelensky also accused Moscow of seeking to draw Belarus deeper into the conflict and of attempting to destabilize the situation around Transnistria, the breakaway Moldovan region backed by Russia.

The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia was increasingly feeling the costs of the war, pointing to drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, economic strain, fuel shortages, rising prices, and the necessity of more military mobilization.

Zelensky claimed Russia suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded in May alone, saying Ukraine had “video confirmation” of the battlefield losses and that such casualty levels had been sustained month after month.

He added that Ukraine also continues to suffer painful losses despite what he described as a favorable casualty ratio.

He said Ukraine was prepared to implement a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations and proposed an all-for-all prisoner exchange as a first step toward ending the conflict.

Zelensky also called for the return of civilians and children taken from Ukraine during the war.

“The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” Zelensky said.