The BRICS TimesUkrainian President Zelensky refused to meet Putin in Moscow, instead inviting him to Kyiv. Trump continues to push for face-to-face talks, while Russia imposes extra conditions. Ukraine has faced intense drone, bomb, and missile strikes in September.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly declined Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to hold talks in Moscow, making it clear that he will not travel to what he described as “the capital of terrorists.” In a recent interview, Zelensky stated, “I cannot go to the capital of terrorists, especially when Ukraine is suffering missile strikes every single day. If Putin truly wishes to meet, he can come to Kyiv.” His remarks underscore the ongoing rift between the two nations as the war continues to escalate.
Zelensky explained that Moscow’s insistence on hosting the meeting reflects Russia’s lack of genuine interest in peace negotiations. According to him, proposing talks in Moscow is simply a way of stalling rather than finding a resolution. Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump has been actively pressing both leaders to engage in direct, face-to-face dialogue. To facilitate this, Putin and Trump had met last month in Alaska, where the focus was on paving the way for future discussions involving Zelensky as well.
The Alaska summit was aimed at setting the stage for either bilateral talks between Zelensky and Putin or a broader trilateral format. Following the meeting, Trump announced that Zelensky, along with European leaders, would soon be heading to Washington. He added that only after this step could a potential encounter between Putin and Zelensky take place. However, Trump stressed that Russia has been putting forward additional preconditions, which has not only delayed the possibility of talks but has also coincided with intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Earlier this week, Putin reiterated his willingness to meet Zelensky, but insisted that the talks must take place in Moscow. On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also clarified Russia’s position, saying that Zelensky was being invited to Moscow to negotiate, not to surrender.
Responding to this, Zelensky dismissed the idea altogether, calling a Moscow meeting “impossible.” During a summit in Paris just a day before, he remarked, “If you want the meeting not to happen, then you should invite me to Moscow.” He further said that even the suggestion from Russian leadership about a meeting in any form is treated as a sort of achievement for them.
On Saturday, Zelensky turned to social media to highlight the scale of ongoing Russian aggression. He revealed that within the first five days of September alone, Russia had launched over 1,300 drones, 900 bombs, and 50 missiles of various types against Ukraine. These attacks targeted 14 different regions across the country, causing widespread destruction and adding to the already grim toll of the war.
