Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised observers on Wednesday when he announced that he would be willing to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow. Speaking during a visit to Beijing for a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II\u2019s end, Putin told reporters, \u201cIf Zelenskyy is ready for a meeting, let him come to Moscow.\u201d He added, \u201cI have never refused this, provided the meeting is well-prepared and can lead to some positive potential outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The offer came while Putin stood shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, both of whom have become increasingly close partners with Moscow. The timing was striking, as Russia launched one of its largest overnight attacks on Ukraine in months. Ukrainian officials reported that 502 drones and 24 missiles crossed the border, with several making it past air defenses to strike energy facilities, rail hubs, and residential areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin portrayed his invitation as a sign of flexibility. He even claimed that former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is attempting to broker talks, had personally requested that he meet with Zelenskyy. \u201cDonald asked me if I could possibly arrange such a meeting,\u201d Putin said. \u201cI replied that yes, it\u2019s possible. Ultimately, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow\u2014then the meeting will take place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet many analysts doubt his sincerity. Former CIA Moscow Station Chief Dan Hoffman argued, \u201cThere\u2019s no way that Zelenskyy should be traveling to Moscow.\u201d He warned that Putin was attempting to \u201cmake it appear as if he will negotiate in good faith and try and drive a wedge between Zelenskyy and the United States, as well as Zelenskyy and Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian officials were quick to reject the idea of talks in Moscow. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the invitation \u201cknowingly unacceptable\u201d and reminded the world that neutral countries have already offered to host. \u201cSeven nations have made known their readiness to host peace talks, including Austria, Vatican City, Switzerland, Turkey, and three Gulf states,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are serious proposals and President Zelenskyy is ready for such a meeting at any point of time. Yet, Putin continues to mess around. Only increased pressure can force Russia to finally get serious about [the] peace process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy himself has long said that he is open to a face-to-face meeting with Putin, but only in neutral territory where neither side holds an advantage. By suggesting Moscow, Putin appears to be demanding that Zelenskyy walk into enemy territory while his country remains under daily bombardment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Trump has sought to push the two leaders toward negotiations. In August, he gave Putin a two-week deadline to agree to talks with Zelenskyy, a deadline that has already passed. Trump told reporters, \u201cI\u2019ll know pretty much what we\u2019re going to be doing. We\u2019ve taken very strong action. But I\u2019ll be speaking to him over the next few days, and we\u2019re going to see.\u201d He insisted, \u201cI\u2019m going to know exactly what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump bristled at criticism that his administration has not acted firmly enough. When pressed by a Polish reporter about whether there had been \u201cno action\u201d against Russia, Trump snapped back, \u201cOk. How do you know there\u2019s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser [of Russian oil] \u2014 outside of China, they\u2019re almost equal \u2014 would you say there was no action? That cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia. You call that no action?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. president also suggested that more punishments were in the pipeline. \u201cWhen you say there\u2019s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job,\u201d he said sharply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Zelenskyy, accepting Putin\u2019s invitation to Moscow would be more than risky; it could be politically disastrous. Russia\u2019s war aims have consistently included removing him from power. To walk into the Kremlin would hand Putin the symbolic victory of appearing as the dominant figure, while leaving Zelenskyy vulnerable to manipulation or even physical harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin himself has given little reason to trust his intentions. As he invited Zelenskyy, his forces were bombing Kyiv, cutting power to 30,000 homes, striking rail workers, and hitting civilian neighborhoods. Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, writing, \u201cThe main targets were civilian infrastructure, particularly energy facilities, a transportation hub, even a garage cooperative, and, as has already become routine for the Russians, residential areas. These are clearly demonstrative Russian strikes. Putin is showing his impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European leaders have consistently backed Zelenskyy\u2019s position that talks should be held in a neutral venue, not in Russia. Austria, Switzerland, and Turkey have all raised their hands as potential hosts. Even the Vatican has expressed readiness. In contrast, Putin\u2019s insistence on Moscow seems more like a demand for submission than a path to compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Foreign Minister Sybiha emphasized, \u201cOnly increased pressure can force Russia to finally get serious about peace.\u201d For now, Putin\u2019s invitation looks like another maneuver to shift blame while continuing to wage war. If peace talks are to happen, they must take place on equal footing, not under the shadow of the Kremlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised observers on Wednesday when he announced that he would be willing to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow. Speaking during a visit to Beijing for a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II\u2019s end, Putin told reporters, \u201cIf Zelenskyy is ready for a meeting, let him come to Moscow.\u201d He added, \u201cI have never refused this, provided the meeting is well-prepared and can lead to some positive potential outcomes.\u201d The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-propaganda","category-ukraine-russia-war"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/zelenaputinasfad.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6467,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6465\/revisions\/6467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}