Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s Moscow invitation, says 'Kyiv is the place to talk'

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has turned down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to meet in Moscow, calling the proposed venue a signal that Russia is not genuinely interested in negotiations.

“I can’t go to the capital of this terrorist,” Zelenskyy told US media, noting that Ukraine continues to face daily missile strikes and bombardment. “(Putin) can come to Kyiv,” he added, as quoted by EuroNews.

Trump’s push for direct talks

US President Donald Trump has been lobbying for face-to-face talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. One of the stated goals of Trump’s recent summit with Putin in Alaska was to pave the way for either bilateral or trilateral discussions involving Zelenskyy.

Trump later told reporters that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would happen after the Ukrainian president’s planned visit to Washington and consultations with European leaders. But Moscow has since added new conditions, slowing progress while intensifying shelling of Ukrainian cities.

Moscow doubles down on invitation

This week, Putin said he was “ready” to meet Zelenskyy but insisted on Moscow as the location. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that the Ukrainian leader had been invited “to talk, not to capitulate,” EuroNews reported.

Zelenskyy, however, pushed back. Speaking in Paris after the “coalition of the resolute” summit, he remarked: “I believe that if you want the meeting not to take place, you should invite me to Moscow.” Even so, he said that Moscow’s willingness to discuss a personal meeting at all was a small step forward.

Escalation on the ground

While the diplomatic wrangling continues, the battlefield situation remains intense. On Saturday, Zelenskyy wrote on social media that Russia had launched more than 1,300 drones, nearly 900 guided bombs, and around 50 missiles in the first five days of September alone. The strikes, he said, targeted 14 different regions of Ukraine, according to EuroNews.

“Something will happen,” says Trump

Trump remains confident that talks will eventually materialise. “Something will happen, but they are not ready yet… We’re going to do it,” he told US media, though he declined to provide a timeline, EuroNews reported.