In an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet face-to-face and detangle Ukraine “through direct engagement between us.”
“Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations,” he said in the letter published on the website of the Ukrainian presidential office.
Zelensky has reached out directly to Putin on a few occasions since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, with the Ukrainian leader saying Russians were tired of the conflict, and warning that Ukraine would “continue to fight for its survival” if Putin “does not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war”.
Putin expressed confidence
Zelensky’s letter comes as Putin told the heads of international news agencies at the St. Petersburg economic conference on Thursday that Russia still holds the upper hand in the war.
“Russian troops are advancing along the entire front,” Putin said during his remarks.
“The offensive continues on a daily basis,” he said, claiming that Russia has “complete control” of the “Luhansk People’s Republic” and control over 85% of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, two eastern Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2022.
Putin’s figures match independent Western analysis, including Harvard University’s Russia Matters think tank, which estimates that Russia also controls 75% of Zaporizhia and 65% of Kherson, two other illegally occupied Ukrainian regions.
heavy Russian losses
Despite Putin’s claims, Russia’s progress on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine has largely stalled as Ukraine has flooded the front lines with drones, leaving Moscow’s troops in trouble.
Instead Russia has escalated long-range missile and drone strikes, killing dozens of Ukrainians in cities across the country in recent weeks.
Latest data cited by Harvard University russia matters The project showed that in March and April 2026, Russia suffered its first net loss of territorial control in Ukraine since the end of 2023.
On Thursday, Putin acknowledged that Russia needs to do more to protect against Ukrainian drones, but said he thinks time is on Moscow’s side, and Ukraine does not have enough manpower.
Analysis by Western think tanks, governments, and NATO currently estimates that 30,000 Russian soldiers are being killed in Ukraine every month. Kyiv does not provide regular casualty figures of its troops.
In Kiev on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte appeared alongside Zelensky and cited these casualty numbers, while also warning young Russians that they would likely be injured or killed if they joined the war.
Putin says Russia is ready to ‘compromise’
Although he told reporters Thursday that Russia is “ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine by peaceful means,” Putin has shown no signs he is willing to back down on the demands, which also include Ukraine giving up the entire Donbass region.
Putin cited the “agreements” reached during his summit with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, last year.
These included Ukraine abandoning its NATO aspirations and officially recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.
Putin said, “The Ukrainian side should also agree to these agreements. Then the conflict will quickly come to a natural conclusion.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not yet seen the letter.
“Zelensky can come to Moscow at any time,” he said.
The Trump administration has largely distanced itself from mediating the war, withdrawing most direct military support to Kiev, after several rounds of US-led talks yielded no breakthrough.
On Thursday, Trump said, “I think it would be great if they met. They should … get it done.”
Edited by: Zack Crellin