President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued an unprecedented address to the head of the Kremlin in terms of its form and content. Zelenskyy's open letter to Putin contains a direct proposal to stop hostilities, declare a bilateral ceasefire and hold a personal meeting between the leaders on neutral territory. Amid reports of enormous losses in the Russian army and the threat of increased mobilisation in Russia, the Ukrainian leader called on Moscow to withdraw from the war «honestly and with dignity».
Direct meeting on neutral territory: a new format of diplomacy
The main thesis open letter was a proposal to move the conflict settlement to a purely bilateral track between the direct leaders of the states, abandoning ineffective mediation schemes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it clear that after 26 years of Vladimir Putin's rule and years of full-scale confrontation, visits by leaders to the capitals of the warring countries are impossible. Instead, the Ukrainian side proposes to choose a clear date and meet on the platform of states that traditionally act as peace mediators. Among the possible locations are Switzerland, Turkey or the Arab world. The President of Ukraine stressed that European issues should be resolved directly in the region, not during backroom discussions in Alaska or Anchorage.
Ukraine's conditions: ceasefire and «all for all» exchange»
The proposal to resume diplomatic dialogue is not unconditional - Kyiv has outlined a clear algorithm of priority steps to start real negotiations.
The real ceasefire and the role of the United States
The logical start of the diplomatic process should be complete ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. Zelenskyy stressed that the front line should become the line from which diplomats start their work when the fighting stops. At the same time, it is proposed to entrust the monitoring and actual enforcement of the ceasefire on the contact line to the United States, which should be one of the key guarantors of the future security architecture.
Humanitarian package and security architecture
In addition to the military aspect, the open letter contains two non-alternative humanitarian demands:
-
Immediate launch of a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war on the previously declared principle of «all for all».
-
Launching effective and rapid mechanisms for the return of thousands of deported Ukrainian civilians and forcibly removed children to their homeland.
Kremlin's resource hunger and statistics of Russian losses
A significant part of the appeal is devoted to the internal situation in Russia itself, where, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence, fatigue from the long war is rapidly accumulating.
-
Record losses of personnel: Zelensky announced the official statistics on the losses of the occupation army for May, which exceeded the mark of 30,000 killed and seriously wounded. At the same time, an abnormal and critical balance was recorded for any modern army: 63% of the total number of losses are from eliminated occupants, and only 37% are from wounded. For each of these figures, the Ukrainian side has documented video evidence.
-
Economic depletion and domestic discontent: The letter notes that Russia's resources are shrinking significantly - the Kremlin no longer has the financial and political power to buy the loyalty of its citizens. Russians express obvious dissatisfaction fuel shortages, The Kremlin's plans to announce a second wave of mobilisation to open new fronts or involve neighbouring countries, along with galloping prices, constant bans and plans to open a second wave of mobilisation.
-
Dependence on Pyongyang and Beijing: Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled that Putin became the first ruler in the history of his country who, due to a lack of forces on the battlefield, was forced to beg for military assistance from North Korea and became totally geopolitically dependent on China.
Historical choice: 2028 or a diplomatic exit
Ukrainian intelligence has documents showing that the Russian military leadership is currently considering scripts prolongation of hostilities at least until 2027 and 2028, relying on ballistic weapons, pressure on neighbours and attempts to draw Belarus and Transnistria into the war.
However, the President of Ukraine has warned that if a fair ending is not achieved, the struggle for existence will continue, and fatigue within Russia itself will inevitably lead to internal upheavals, according to the canons of Russian history. The next anniversary of the military rebellion, which falls on 23 June, is a direct confirmation of this. Moscow has a choice to make: either a pointless prolongation of the war to exhaust its own regime, or to fix the damage through a direct compromise.
