Putin says he’d only meet Zelenskyy in ‘final stage’ of negotiations

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he is open to meeting with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only during a “final stage” of negotiations.

“I am even ready to meet him [Zelenskyy] but only if it is some kind of final stage, o as not to sit there and divide something endlessly, but to put an end to it” Putin said on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Wednesday.

Putin said that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have agreed to hold another round of discussions after 22 June. Two rounds of direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv failed to make progress on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year.

“We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of peaceful settlement,” Putin said. He highlighted that the previous negotiations had led to the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of soldiers killed in the conflict.

Putin also reiterated his false claim that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine’s legitimate president after his term expired last year.

This accusation has been roundly rejected by Kyiv and its allies, as Ukraine’s constitution makes it illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law.

During the meeting with senior news agency editors, Putin also talked about the conflict between Israel and Iran, NATO, and Russia’s relations with the West.

In overnight attacks, Russia struck six Ukrainian regions, having launched 104 Shahed-type strike UAVs and various decoy drones. Of these, 40 were destroyed while 48 were jammed or disabled by electronic warfare, according to Ukraine’s military

In Kyiv, emergency workers recovered more bodies on Wednesday from the debris of a nine-story apartment building in the Solomianskyi district, which was destroyed by a Russian missile strike. The death toll from this latest attack on the Ukrainian capital has risen to 28.

Officials reported that 23 of the victims were inside the building when it was hit and collapsed during what has become the deadliest Russian assault on Kyiv so far this year. The other five fatalities occurred in other parts of the city.

The overnight assault from Monday into Tuesday was described by Zelenskyy as one of the largest attacks since the war began.