President Volodymyr Zelensky rarely writes to Vladimir Putin. But when he does, he forces the Russian autocrat to confront the numbers and losses he carefully chooses to ignore.
On the very day Zelensky’s unprecedented open letter was published, Putin was once again publicly questioning the president’s legitimacy – a deeply ironic projection from a ruler who has held power for more than 26 years.
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Zelensky cuts through the Kremlin’s excuses and presents the war as one man’s choice, obsession and failure.
‘Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice.”
The letter also highlights a bitter historical irony.
“We brought the war onto your territory, and you would not have been able to cope with it without North Korea’s help.”
“And today you are fully dependent on China – also for the first time in Russia’s history,” he added.
Distance no longer protects
Zelensky also speaks over Putin’s head directly to Russian society.
He lists what ordinary Russians are now beginning to feel: drone strikes, fuel shortages, rising prices, restrictions, fear of mobilization and the total absence of any visible end to the war.
His reference to Ukrainian long-range strikes reaching St. Petersburg serves as a stark warning to the Kremlin’s elite that geographic isolation is over.
“The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians view it positively that our long-range drones paid a visit to the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, covering a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.”
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“As you know very well, that distance is not the limit of our capabilities,” he added.
A mutiny not erased
The mention of the Prigozhin mutiny is another deliberate wound.
By invoking the June 23 anniversary, Zelensky reminds Putin of an internal fracture the Kremlin desperately tries to erase from history.
“You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine. Instead, it was your own military formations that staged a mutiny against you. June 23 will mark another anniversary of that event, and silence will not erase this fact from history.”
Facing the numbers
While Moscow wants to project a myth of endless manpower, Zelensky’s numbers tell another story. He says Russian army losses in May exceeded 30,000 soldiers, with 63 percent killed and 37 percent wounded.
Citing video confirmation for each loss, Zelensky argues that no army in the 21st century can sustain such a ratio.
The Ukrainian leader is telling Putin that the war is draining the very system that keeps him in power.
To drive the point home, he openly mocks Putin’s repeatedly postponed deadlines and the Kremlin’s failure to achieve what it promised.
“You regularly postpone, every few months, your own deadlines for capturing our regions - especially the Donetsk region.”
“And you will not capture it this year either,” he ended.
Beyond Ukraine’s borders
Zelensky also uses the letter to warn of Putin’s possible next escalations.
He reveals that Ukrainian intelligence has seen reports that Russia is considering plans to continue the war into 2027 and 2028, hoping that ballistic missiles can achieve what the rest of Moscow’s arsenal has failed to deliver.
Zelensky notes that Putin wants to draw Belarus even deeper into the war, is trying to orchestrate something around Transnistria, and continues to let Russian propagandists threaten virtually every country neighboring Russia.
A cheap shot: “Come to Moscow”
Zelensky knows all too well what the Kremlin’s answer to a genuine peace offer will be. Indeed, his proposal for a direct meeting with Putin in a neutral country was instantly met with the standard Russian defense mechanism.
Predictably, Kremlin officials rolled out their usual smirking invitation to “come to Moscow.”
It is hard to imagine a cheaper, more dismissive response to a brutal war of aggression. Anticipating this deflection, Zelensky’s letter proactively lectures Putin on where warring nations actually meet:
“After these 26 years, there is nothing for a Ukrainian leader to do in your capital – just as there is nothing for a Russian leader to do in Kyiv.”
He added that “there are countries that have traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Türkiye, the countries of the Arab world – many are able and willing to host such a meeting.”
Trapped by his own mistake
The most powerful line in the letter may be Zelensky’s appeal for Putin “not to be afraid to take the path out of the war.”
This is the ultimate psychological reversal. Zelensky positions the leader of a nuclear state not as an untouchable strongman, but as an aging man trapped by his own historical mistake.
The letter’s final warning is precise.
If Putin refuses this way out, Ukraine will keep fighting for its existence – forcing Putin to increasingly fight for his own by making the war heavier, and more politically dangerous for the man who started it.
Putin will speak to his favorite audience later today, safe inside his echo chamber. But outside, the signals are hard to miss: black smoke is billowing over his native city, and a verdict is hanging over his legacy from his adversary – you will fail.
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