Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly proposed direct face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure a ceasefire and end the war. Zelenskyy’s proposal includes an immediate and complete ceasefire during negotiations and security guarantees for Ukraine, with the current frontline as the starting point for talks [1, 2, 3, 4].
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed strong support for Zelenskyy’s call and emphasized the need for active U.S. and European participation in the diplomatic process. They said, "Leaders commended President Zelenskiy's call for an end to the war, negotiated by diplomatic means, as set out in his letter to the president" [1].
Zelenskyy warned against waiting for U.S. focus to return to Europe amid American attention on Iran. He argued, "It would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the centre of its attention [in the US]" [1]. He also noted that many Russians are weary of the war’s impacts such as missile attacks, inflation, fuel shortages, and desire peace [1, 2, 4].
However, Putin rejected Zelenskyy’s call for a direct meeting. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 5, Putin said, "I see no point in meeting Zelenskyy until peace deal terms are agreed. I think it is meaningless to meet with Zelenskyy now." He insisted the conflict will continue with Russian advances until all objectives are met, stating that a long-term agreement requiring mutual compromise is necessary for peace talks to succeed [1, 5, 6, 7].
Following Putin’s rejection, Zelenskyy accused Russia of choosing war once again, calling Putin's response "weak" and saying "he does not want to end the war" [5]. The Kremlin confirmed it received Zelenskyy’s letter and said it will present it to Putin. Kremlin spokesperson said, "If Zelenskyy wants to talk, he can come to Moscow" [7].
On June 6, St. Petersburg faced a large drone attack. Russian air defenses claimed to have shot down 144 drones targeting military installations [7].
Zelenskyy met European leaders on June 7 in London to discuss coordinated efforts to end the war. The conflict enters its fifth year since Russia's 2022 invasion [1, 3, 8].
Early on June 8, Russian strikes killed five civilians and injured 14 in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region and caused power outages affecting over 1,000 customers in Odesa. Ukrainian forces conducted strikes on Russian targets in Crimea and Volgograd [8].
