You can stop your fight”: Zelensky's letter opened to Putin

Voldymyr Zelensky, in an open letter to Vladimir Putin, has called for a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president to end his fight against Ukraine, reports Thegardian, broadcast Periscope.

The letter presents Zelensky's view of the four-year conflict and says that while Ukrainian resistance remains intact, most Russians are tired of its effects and ready for peace.

Ukrainian president has rarely addressed Putin directly, but has repeatedly requested a meeting with him, saying he is needed for any border agreement. Putin has previously ruled out such direct talks, falsely calling Zelenskyy an illegal"leader, and saying he would meet only to finalise a previously agreed agreement.

This is the complete text of Zelensky's letter, published on the president's website and his office says he was sent to other countries, including the US.

Full letter:

For president of the Russian Federation

From the President of Ukraine

When you came to power in Russia over 26 years ago, many people in Ukraine saw you positively. It was. But that now belongs to the past.

Now, the vast majority of Ukrainians see positively the fact that our long-range fears visited the opening of your forum in St Petersburg, passing a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you know very well, this distance is not the limit of our abilities.

For 26 years, your time in power has completely changed the agenda of relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions about trade and other civil affairs, our nations have gone into almost exclusively discussions on attacks and losses.

You've spent almost half your 26 years in power in Russia waging war against Ukraine.

Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitical or Russian, this war is your personal choice -- a war without a real cause. This is how history will remember it.

Those years could have been very different.

We often hear that you are comfortable with this war. Of course, not when it comes to the safety of your residence in Valdai or your parade in Moscow. Your life is valuable to you.

But now we can all see that the Russians are finally feeling less comfortable with this reality - with the fact that war is bringing ever more negative consequences to Russia.

They don't like our drones and missiles.

They do not like gasoline shortages and ongoing prices.

They dislike constant restrictions.

They don't like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilization aimed at expanding the war in another direction in Ukraine or to use it against other neighboring countries with Russia.

They don't like the fact that your war doesn't seem to end.

Yes, you can still force the Russians to exist this way. But your resources are greatly reduced.

You will not have enough political money or capital to continue buying the loyalty of the Russians the same way you have done for the past 26 years.

And we will do everything we can to ensure that the world helps draw that moment.

As you like to say yourself, "we need to calculate the figure".

Yesterday I received a report on your army's losses in front of Ukraine during May. Once again, the number exceeded 30,000 Russian soldiers killed and seriously injured. We've kept this level month after month and have video confirmation of each of your losses -- these are not empty claims.

We know that 63% of your defeats on the battlefield are dead, while only 37% are wounded. In the 21st century, no army can afford such a report. And the killing part will continue to grow.

It's not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country.

But I take care of Ukrainians.

We are losing our people and every loss is painful for us. Even when the Ukrainian loss to Russian losses is one by five or one by six, it still matters a lot.

It is also important that you regularly postpone, every few months, your deadlines for catching our regions - especially the Donnetsk region. And you won't even catch him this year.

But we in Ukraine do not want a lasting war. We know very well that life without war is forever better. And we want to achieve this.

I am convinced that most Russians would respond positively to that - and you know that.

Many did not believe Ukraine would be able to resist for so long. You didn't believe it. And those who warned you didn't believe it either. That was a mistake.

You didn't expect total resistance from Ukraine and didn't predict things would go so far. Yet, here we are all - in the fifth year of this full - scale war.

Do not be afraid to make your way out of this war. That's the main thing that's required of you right now.

Ukraine has maintained its independence. And I will keep it. Despite all predictions that indicate otherwise.

We have united many people worldwide to stay with Ukraine and against you. We found the weapons and the funding we needed.

We get support. You get sanctions. And that will continue until there is justice for Ukraine - justice that we seek and justice that can be achieved.

We will not allow those who are trying to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly eased and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced, without any significant change in your attitude towards Ukraine, to succeed. Orban's example shows how those who choose to help Russia in its fight against us end up ashamed.

Ukraine has endured severe winters while you tried to destroy our energy system. We stayed strong - and even in the dark, Ukrainian resistance remained intact.

We brought the war to your territory and you wouldn't have been able to afford it without the help of North Korea. You are Russia's first ruler to turn to John for help.

And today you're completely dependent on China -- also for the first time in Russian history.

You believed that Ukrainians would not have the strength to defend themselves. Today, however, our people are helping our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf build their own protection.

You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine. Instead, it was your military formations that organized an uprising against you. June 23rd will mark another anniversary of that event, and silence will not erase that fact from history.

And now you are the ones that your officials, businessmen and propagandists see with obvious fatigue. The world can see this.

The world is not tired of Ukraine, as you have long hoped. But there is growing fatigue with Russia - even among those in the wide world that help you overcome sanctions and keep your economy above water.

You can't ignore this. After 26 years in power, age is starting to make a difference. And over time, fatigue with you will only grow.

We have seen intelligence reports showing that you are now considering plans to continue the war in 2027 and 2028. We also know that you hope that ballistic missiles will achieve for you what everything else has not achieved. You want to draw Belarus even deeper into this war, and now we are forced to prepare for it. We see you're trying to orchestrate something about Transnistria. Your propagandists threaten, one way or another, every country next to Russia. Do you really want to go through all this?

The choice is yours now.

Enough with the war.

Ukraine proposes to end this war.

This should be done with honesty, dignity, and assurances that war will not flare up again.

We see that the United States is totally focused on the Iran issue, and it would be a mistake to wait just until the war in Europe became the focus of their attention.

Ukraine proposes to end this war through a direct engagement between you and us.

I'm proposing a meeting.

All heard your representatives smiling, saying that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after 26 years, there's nothing for a Ukrainian leader to do in your capital -- just like there's nothing for a Russian leader to do in Kiev.

There are countries that have traditionally hosted leaders to resolve the issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Turkey, the countries of the Arab world - many are able and willing to expect such a meeting.

They are the leaders who solve the main issues. It's always been like this and always will be.

I propose that a clear date be set for such an appointment.

We've heard that you were promised in Alaska to resolve some issues involving Ukraine and Europe. But you can see for yourself that Ukrainian and European issues are not settled in Anchorage.

Other agreed participants could join the bilateral road that will be decided among us.

Since war is under way in Europe and since Ukraine needs security guarantees while you also seek security for yourself, it would be logical to include those who can truly serve as guarantors.

We believe that Europe should be part of this process - those who truly have the ability to influence the situation.

We also believe that the United States should be part of the process. This is what can help shape a new security architecture for our part of the world.

We have already experienced many agreements with Russia, including Minsk's agreements, which eventually failed. That's why we first need to find direct answers to the questions that remain, and not hide from difficult issues behind formulas, technical working groups or endless time lost in the diplomacy of flights.

Your war has forever divided Ukraine and Russia.

The front line today is the line from which diplomacy should begin.

Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations. This is standard practice, and current developments about Iran only reinforce this point. An attempt to establish real silence is the best way to start talking to each other. We believe it would not just be an attempt, but a real truce - if that's what you want.

You know the United States has the ability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where the hostilities stop.

Ukraine is ready for a comprehensive exchange of prisoners of war, and this could become a good prologue to end the war.

Serious steps must be taken to bring back civilians and children who were taken during the war.

We have to determine what kind of future awaits the generations of Ukrainians and Russians that are coming after us.

If you personally fail to conclude that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence. We'll have those who support us.

But you too will have to fight much harder for your existence - not Russia, but yours. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. It's a fact of Russian history that you know: when Russia gets tired, change comes.

We can work towards that fatigue.

You can stop your war.

Eternal memory for all who were taken away from this war.

Glory to Ukraine! /Periscope/