Ukrainian Drone Strikes Kill 21 in Russian-Controlled Area; Putin Rejects Zelenskyy Meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he sees no point in meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war. The remark came during a question-and-answer session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, one day after Zelenskyy sent Putin an open letter proposing face-to-face talks.

Putin described the letter as boorish and said it created conditions that made personal meetings impossible. Zelenskyy wrote the letter on Thursday, the first public message he has sent to Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In the letter, Zelenskyy criticized Putin's 26 years in power and said age is beginning to take its toll.

Putin, 73, responded by pointing to other global leaders who are older and said the main thing is the ability to work. Putin also cited a May 22 Ukrainian drone attack on a college dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region that Moscow said killed 21 people. He said the attack made a meeting pointless at this time.

A Russian businessman traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting, Putin added. S. President Trump said Thursday it would be great if the two leaders meet.

I'm the one that got them to this point, Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Putin said Russia remains open to a compromise based on understandings reached at last year's summit with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. He rejected an immediate ceasefire, saying Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement rather than a temporary truce.

Putin also addressed the global economy, accusing the West of undermining trust through sanctions and asset freezes. The sanctions and blocking of Russia's sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro, he said at the forum. Hours before the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set an oil terminal in St.

Petersburg ablaze and struck a nearby naval base. Putin said Russia would strengthen air defenses in response to such strikes.