The Guardian. Last week, Zelenskyy wrote an open letter to Russia’s president, suggesting a face-to-face meeting to wind down this terrible conflict. Speaking on Friday at the St Petersburg economic forum, Putin rejected the offer. He characterised the letter as “rude” and said Russia’s territorial demands – the Donbas region and two southern Ukrainian provinces – were unchanged. He also insisted Russian forces were going forward across all parts of the frontline, telling them: “Keep working, brothers.”
Putin’s implacable stance has led some observers to wonder if he is delusional, or being fed wrong information by his commanders. Zelenskyy says these theories are plausible, but he stresses that “the reason he’s lying doesn’t matter”. Putin, he adds, has lied about the war from the beginning, claiming it was necessary to seize Ukrainian land to “rescue” Russian speakers. His lies are a glue, used to “join” different elements in Russian society together, he thinks.
On the international stage, Russia has experienced several recent political defeats. In April, Putin’s closest ally in Europe, Viktor Orbán, was trounced in Hungary’s general election. Recent Russian efforts to support pro-Kremlin candidates in Moldova and – over the weekend – in Armenia also failed. “They are losing influence in different countries, including in Azerbaijan,” Zelenskyy says. He adds: “They are isolated inside Europe and from the United States also. So they are alone.”