Open Letter
To the President of the Russian Federation
from the President of Ukraine
When you took the helm of Russia more than 26 years ago, many in Ukraine viewed you favorably. That was the case. That is now in the past.
Now, the vast majority of Ukrainians view positively the fact that our long-range drones flew to the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, covering a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you well know, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities.
Your 26 years in power have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions of trade and other civilian issues, our peoples have moved on to topics of nothing but strikes and losses.
You have spent nearly half of your 26 years in power in Russia at war against Ukraine.
Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice—a war without a real cause. That is exactly how history will remember it.
This time could have been spent very differently.
We often hear that the war suits you. Of course, not when it comes to the security of your residence in Valdai or a parade in Moscow. Your own life is precious to you.
But now we all see that this is finally no longer acceptable to Russians—that the war is bringing more and more negative consequences to Russia.
They don’t like our drones and missiles.
They don’t like the gasoline shortages and constantly rising prices.
They don’t like the constant restrictions.
They don’t like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilization to expand the war in another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against other countries—Russia’s neighbors.
They don’t like that there’s no end in sight to your war.
Yes, you can still force Russians to live this way.
But your resources are dwindling significantly.
You won’t have enough money or political clout to keep buying the loyalty of Russians, as you’ve done for 26 years. We will do everything to ensure the world takes care of this.
As you yourself say, “everything must be calculated.”
Yesterday I received a report on your army’s losses on the front lines in Ukraine in May. That’s again over 30,000 Russians killed and seriously wounded. We track this exact figure every month, and we have video evidence for every one of your losses—this is not mere hearsay.
We know that 63 percent of your frontline casualties are killed, and only 37 percent are wounded. In the 21st century, armies cannot afford such a ratio. The proportion of those killed will only increase.
It’s not that we in Ukraine are worried about the Russians. After all that your war has brought to Ukraine.
But I care about Ukrainians.
We are losing our people, and every loss hurts us. And even when the ratio of Ukrainian casualties to Russian casualties is one to five or one to six, it still matters greatly.
Just as significant is the fact that you have been regularly, every few months, pushing back the deadlines for capturing our regions, primarily the Donetsk region. You will not capture it this year either.
But we in Ukraine do not want a constant war. We know very well that life is infinitely better without war. We want to achieve that.
I am confident that the majority of Russians are ready to give a positive answer to this, and you know it.
Many did not believe that Ukraine would hold out for so long in its defense.
You didn’t believe it. And those who advised you didn’t believe it either. That was a mistake.
You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine and did not foresee that things would go this far. But here we are—in the fifth year of a full-scale conflict.
Do not be afraid to end the war—that is the most important thing required of you right now.
Ukraine is preserving its independence. And it will continue to do so. Despite any other predictions.
We have united many around the world in defense of Ukraine and against you. We have found weapons and funding.
We are receiving support; you are facing sanctions. And this will continue until there is justice for Ukraine—the justice we want and that can be achieved.
We will not allow those who are trying to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly weakened and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced without substantial changes in your position regarding Ukraine to succeed. Orbán’s example demonstrates the disgrace that befalls those who choose to aid Russia in its war against us.
Ukraine endured harsh winters while you tried to destroy our energy sector. We stood our ground, and even in the darkness, the resilience of Ukrainians remained intact.
We brought the war to your territory, and you would not have been able to cope with it without North Korea’s help. You are the first Russian leader to have been forced to turn to Pyongyang for help.
And today you are completely dependent on China—also for the first time in Russian history.
You counted on Ukrainians not having the strength to defend themselves, but now our men are helping to build defenses for our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf.
You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine, but it was your own military units that rebelled against you. June 23 will mark another anniversary, and silence will not erase this fact from history.
And now your own government officials, businesspeople, and propagandists are looking at you with obvious weariness. The world sees this.
The world is not tired of Ukraine, as you had long counted on. But there is fatigue with Russia even among those in the global community who help you circumvent sanctions and keep your economy afloat.
You cannot fail to notice this. After 26 years, age is beginning to take its toll. The longer this goes on, the greater the fatigue will be—with you as well.
We have seen intelligence documents indicating that you are currently considering war plans for as far as 2027 and 2028. We also know that you are hoping that ballistic missiles will achieve for you what everything else has failed to do. You want to drag Belarus even deeper into the war, and now we are forced to prepare for that as well. We see that you are playing some kind of game with Transnistria. Your propagandists are threatening all of Russia’s neighbors in one way or another. Do you really want to go through all of this?
The choice is now yours.
Enough war.
Ukraine proposes to end this war.
It must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.
We see that the United States is focusing all its attention on the issue of Iran, and it is wrong to simply wait for the war in Europe to come next on their agenda.
Ukraine proposes ending the war through a dialogue between us and you.
I propose a meeting with you.
Everyone has heard your representatives smilingly say that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after 26 years like this, a Ukrainian leader has nothing to do in your capital, just as a Russian leader has nothing to do in Kyiv.
There are countries that traditionally host leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Turkey, and countries in the Arab world—many are able and willing to host this meeting.
It is the leaders who resolve key issues—that is how it has always been and always will be.
I propose setting a specific date for the meeting.
We have heard that you were promised in Alaska that certain issues concerning Ukraine and Europe would be resolved. But you can see that Ukrainian and European issues are not resolved in Anchorage.
Other designated participants may join the bilateral track we have initiated.
Since the war is ongoing in Europe, and we in Ukraine need security guarantees, and you want security guarantees for yourselves, it seems logical to involve those who can truly act as guarantors.
We believe that Europe’s participation is necessary—those who truly have the ability to influence the situation.
We believe that the United States must be part of the process, and this is what could determine the configuration of a new security architecture in our part of the world.
We have already had experience with many treaties with Russia and the Minsk agreements that did not work. Therefore, we must first and foremost find our own bilateral answers to the existing questions and not hide from difficult issues behind any wording, technical groups, or time-wasting shuttle diplomacy.
With your war, you have permanently divided Ukraine and Russia.
The front line is now the starting point for diplomacy.
Ukraine is ready to cease fire completely—for the duration of the negotiations. And this is standard practice, as confirmed by the current circumstances surrounding Iran. An attempt to establish a genuine ceasefire is the best way to start talking to one another. We believe that this will not be merely an attempt, but a genuine ceasefire, if you so desire.
You know that the United States can provide monitoring of the ceasefire along the line of contact.
Ukraine is ready for a prisoner exchange on an “all for all” basis, and this could serve as a good prelude to ending the war.
Serious steps must be taken to return civilians and children who were taken away during the war.
We must determine what the future will be like for all future generations of Ukrainians and Russians.
If you personally do not come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence. We will have those who support us.
But you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own survival—not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows weary, change occurs.
We can work toward that exhaustion.
You can stop your war.
Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war.
