Zelenskyy Proposes Putin Meeting as Russia Kills 12 in Ukraine Strikes

Volodymyr Zelenskyy published an open letter to Vladimir Putin in which he proposed a face-to-face meeting and warned that if Putin does not personally conclude it is time to end the war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence.

“At least 12 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commemorated at least 707 children killed by Russia during the two countries’ more than four-year-long war”

Al Jazeera

The Kremlin said it had seen the letter and would review it later with Putin, while Sky News reported that Dmitry Peskov said Putin would be informed about it "later".

Al Jazeera

As Putin spoke to representatives of the international media in St Petersburg on the sidelines of an economic forum, he claimed Russia's forces are advancing "along the whole" frontline in Ukraine and said Kyiv is suffering a "catastrophic" manpower problem.

In the same period, Al Jazeera reported Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least 12 people and injured dozens, with five killed and 11 injured in Donetsk region attacks, and Zelenskyy commemorated at least 707 children killed by Russia since February 2022.

Sky News said Donald Trump told media that he thought it would be "great" if the two warring leaders were to meet, and it also reported the Kremlin was aware of Zelenskyy's letter.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Zelenskyy writing, "But you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own existence — not Russia’s, but your own," as the letter pressed Putin to take a path out of the war.

BBC

On the ground narrative, The Guardian reported an Institute for the Study of War assessment that "Ukrainian forces have largely halted the Russian spring-summer 2026 offensive so far," and it quoted John Helin saying, "If the Russians can't find ways to pick up momentum significantly, the goal of capturing Donbas this year is slipping out of their reach fast."

In parallel, Al Jazeera said Zelenskyy marked International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression by writing, "This day is about the most painful episodes of the war, about the greatest injustice and the evil Russia inflicts when the most vulnerable and the most innocent are killed. Children," as it detailed attacks across multiple regions including Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelenskyy could come "any time" to Moscow, after Zelenskyy called to set a date for a face-to-face meeting between the pair to end the war.

“People living in Russia’s biggest cities, Moscow and St”

CNN

The New York Times reported that the House voted on Wednesday to take up a bill to impose sweeping new sanctions on Russia and provide additional aid to Ukraine, with a "218-to-204" vote to take it up after six Republicans and an independent joined Democrats.

The Guardian said analysts linked Russia's escalation of air raids on major Ukrainian cities to its failure to advance on the battlefield, and it cited the Institute for the Study of War and Black Bird Group data on Russian monthly territorial gains falling sharply.

Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty described the war's human cost inside Russia, saying wounded Russian men were sent back to the front despite severe injuries, including cases where relatives said medical reports indicated they were not fit for further service in combat.