Zelensky publicly asks Putin for face-to-face talks as fighting and security incidents continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a direct and public appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging face-to-face negotiations in a letter that also sharply criticised the Russian leader’s 26-year tenure.

The report says this is the first time Zelensky has publicly addressed Putin directly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Zelensky wrote, “I am proposing a meeting.”

He said talks could be hosted by a neutral third country, ruling out both Moscow and Kyiv as venues. He suggested Switzerland, Turkey or Arab states as possible hosts for negotiations.

“It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

The live updates page said Zelensky’s message reflected changing US priorities, arguing it would be misguided to simply wait for the Trump administration to renew its focus on ending the war in Ukraine while its attention remains heavily directed toward the war in Iran.

The Kremlin later said Putin had been informed about the open letter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, according to state news agency TASS, that Putin had received information about it. Zelensky had published the letter on Thursday, proposing a leaders’ meeting to agree on an end to the war while warning that Kyiv stood ready to continue fighting otherwise.

Separately, Ukrainian drones struck five ships in the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk and in coastal waters of Russian-occupied territories overnight, according to Ukrainian drone forces commander Robert Brovdi. He said on Telegram that the strikes hit dry cargo ships and a tanker involved in “stealing” Ukrainian grain and transferring military cargo and fuel. He added that the vessels’ names had been painted over and their radars turned off.

In Romania, a marine drone exploded in the Black Sea port of Constanta on Friday, according to local media and the Romanian defence ministry. The ministry said the drone self-detonated at around 10:30am local time without causing casualties and that it was of a type used in the war in Ukraine, not part of the Romanian army’s equipment.

Romanian deputy interior minister Raed Arafat said two helicopters were surveying Constanta port and the Black Sea coast for more drones after the explosion. “We now know there is the risk of self-detonation, we have ... evacuated in case there are more drones,” Arafat told reporters. “We are not panicking, the measures are purely preventative.” Digi24 later reported, citing unnamed sources, that three more maritime drones had been found on the Romanian coast.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had negotiated a temporary local ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the sixth such arrangement since late last year. The agency said the pause in fighting took effect on Friday and would allow repairs to the 750-kilovolt Dniprovska power line after extensive demining.

According to the IAEA, the line was disconnected more than two months ago, leaving Europe’s largest nuclear power plant reliant on a single 330 kV line to supply electricity needed to cool its six shutdown reactors. The agency said the plant had lost access to that line several times in recent weeks, forcing it to use emergency diesel generators.

The live page also reported that Putin said Russia had used the medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile on Kyiv last month to observe the results for future use. He told reporters that the strike had been used to assess the weapon’s impact and help decisions on its fuller future use.

In Washington, the page reported that the US House passed a bill to aid Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia. It also said Republican leaders had urged members to oppose the legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said there were good-faith negotiations between Congress and the White House to boost Ukraine, but described them as complicated.

The report added that US-led peace efforts have fizzled out, with the sides making no progress on key differences and the war in Iran drawing Washington’s attention.