Key takeaways:
- Putin rejected Zelenskyy’s request for face-to-face talks, saying experts should first develop long-term agreements.
- Zelenskyy said Putin’s response showed Russia “doesn’t want to end the war” and was “choosing war” again.
- Ukrainian officials said at least 13 people were killed and 70 injured in Russian attacks over the past day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for face-to-face talks to end the war in Ukraine, saying Friday that he saw “no point” in meeting the Ukrainian leader for now and insisting that any ceasefire must follow negotiations rather than precede them.
Speaking at Russia’s annual economic forum in St Petersburg, Putin dismissed an open letter Zelenskyy released a day earlier urging direct negotiations and a ceasefire. Zelenskyy wrote that it was “wrong to simply wait” for the war to become the focus of U.S. attention again as Washington’s priorities shift, and urged Putin to “not be afraid to take the path out of this war.”
Putin said the letter contained “some rather rude remarks” and questioned whether it had been intended to make talks possible.
“Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way not to set up a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the second,” he said. Asked whether he would meet Zelenskyy, Putin replied: “I don’t see any point for now.”
The Russian leader repeated his argument that a ceasefire would help Ukraine halt Russian advances and regroup while leaving Moscow’s demands unresolved. “The only point is for the Ukrainian side to halt the advance of our armed forces,” he said, according to the BBC. “But we need agreements — not for six months, not for three months, but for the long term.”
He added: “Let the experts get to work and come up with some solutions. After that, we can meet.”
Zelenskyy responded that Russia was refusing a path toward peace. “Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war — everyone hear the response. A weak response,” he said in his nightly video address, according to Al Jazeera. “I think this response will have disappointed many in the world.” On Telegram, he wrote: “He just doesn’t want to end the war.”
Putin said the war would end only when Russia achieves its goals. “Military actions will end some day, we assume,” he said. “Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves.”
Russia has long demanded that Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and abandon efforts to join NATO. Kyiv has refused to cede territory, arguing that concessions would encourage further Russian aggression after Moscow annexed Crimea eight years before launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelenskyy’s letter took a defiant and at times mocking tone, saying that “after 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll” on Putin. He also referred to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, including one on St Petersburg on Thursday that he described as “paying a visit.” U.S. President Donald Trump had said “it would be great” if the two leaders met, the BBC reported.
The diplomatic exchange came as attacks continued. Ukrainian officials said at least 13 people were killed and 70 injured in Russian attacks over the past day. Four people died when a dairy factory was hit outside Kyiv, and a drone strike on a petrol station in Kherson killed a 35-year-old woman.
Ukraine said Friday it had struck five ships carrying illegal cargo in the Sea of Azov and in coastal waters of Russian-occupied territories. Robert Brovdi, Ukraine’s drone commander, said the vessels had been involved in “stealing” Ukrainian grain and transferring fuel and military supplies. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said five people were killed in attacks on two ships in the Sea of Azov, without saying who it believed was responsible, and said the boats did not belong to Azerbaijan.
The BBC also reported that one Ukrainian-operated drone exploded in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta after Ukrainian operators said Russian electronic interference knocked it off course.
Putin also rejected claims that Russia’s economy is collapsing under the strain of the war, sanctions and high borrowing costs. Al Jazeera reported that Russia’s economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, its first quarterly contraction in three years. “We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed,” Putin said, adding that Russia was pursuing a “sovereign” economy.
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