The Ukrainian leader won’t consider genuine talks while Western funding continues, Vassily Nebenzia has stated
Published 9 Jun, 2026 09:14
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, New York City, May 26, 2026. © Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky’s open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin was not a sincere invitation to peace talks, but a publicity maneuver, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has said.
Zelensky published the message last week after Putin again stated that Moscow remained open to diplomacy with Kiev. In the letter, the Ukrainian leader accused the Russian president of wrongdoing and called for a direct one-on-one meeting, which he claimed could help bring an end to the conflict.
Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Nebenzia dismissed the letter as another example of Ukrainian “megaphone diplomacy,” accusing Kiev of having “openly embarked on the path of terrorism.”
According to the Russian envoy, the message “is by no means a peace initiative, but rather a clumsy provocation designed to camouflage Kiev’s desperate attempts to derail any negotiations.” Russia has no intention “of participating in mock negotiations or performances staged for the public.”
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‘Several pages of rudeness’
Zelensky has repeatedly called for a face-to-face meeting with Putin. However, he has ruled out traveling to Moscow and refused to consider withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donbass, which Putin said would be enough for Russia to declare a ceasefire.
Putin, responding to the letter, said the conditions don’t currently exist for such a meeting to take place. His foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, characterized Zelensky’s message as “several pages of rudeness,” while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow viewed it as a sign that “Ukraine does not need negotiations.”
Zelensky later met with the leaders of the UK, Germany and France in London. Their joint statement demanded an immediate ceasefire and reiterated plans to deploy NATO troops to Ukraine after the conflict with Russia is over. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out such an arrangement.
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The Zelensky-Putin exchange took place while the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was underway. During the event, Ukrainian forces launched several drone attacks targeting Russia’s second-largest city.
West funding Zelensky’s ‘terrorism’ – Moscow
Nebenzia pointed to recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians, including a drone strike on a school dormitory in Starobelsk, as well as attacks on a bus and a train carrying passengers from Moscow to Simferopol.
He argued that the West’s refusal to acknowledge victims of Ukrainian attacks reflects a form of political screening, in which “some victims are declared worthy of sympathy, while others are deliberately erased” in order to shield Kiev from scrutiny.
He said that despite Kiev’s criminality and corruption, Ukraine continues to receive unconditional political and financial backing from foreign governments. Nebenzia claimed Western leaders tolerate Zelensky’s policies because they have turned Ukraine into “expendable cannon fodder” in a “senseless crusade” against Russia.
The envoy further alleged that Western officials know Zelensky and his inner circle are profiting from foreign aid, but continue providing “handouts” in order to prolong the conflict.
