Vladimir Putin has dismissed an invitation from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy for direct talks, stating that Russia will meet its objectives in Ukraine, including full control of the eastern Donbas area. At an economic forum in St Petersburg, the Russian leader called an open letter from Zelenskyy containing the proposal discourteous. He avoided naming Zelenskyy, referring only to the letter’s author, and declared there was “no point” in holding talks. The letter, released on Thursday, suggested a meeting in a neutral location such as Switzerland or Turkey. It called for diplomacy to begin from current front lines and stated Ukraine was prepared for a complete ceasefire during negotiations. Russian forces shot down 25 drones near St Petersburg early on Saturday, according to the regional governor on Telegram. “Combat operations are continuing,” governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said. Putin earlier dismissed recent drone incidents near his hometown during the forum and confirmed his territorial demands remain the same. He claimed Russia holds all of Luhansk and over 85 percent of Donetsk, despite Kyiv’s denial, and repeated calls for Ukraine to cede Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Zelenskyy said the refusal indicated Moscow does not want to end the fighting. “Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war,” he stated in his evening address. Russian strikes killed five civilians in southern Kherson region on Friday across three incidents, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Kherson is among four regions annexed by Russia after its 2022 invasion. Separately, a sea drone exploded near an oil terminal in Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta on Friday without injuries, after Ukraine said Russian jamming caused it to veer off course. The blast marked the second such event in a Romanian populated area on NATO’s eastern border in a week. A week after Moscow accused Ukraine of a drone strike on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Russia’s Rosatom said a Ukrainian drone intentionally hit engineers clearing mines near the facility on Friday, wounding at least three. The incident occurred at the start of a UN-brokered ceasefire around the site. The plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, was taken by Russian forces early in the invasion. Both sides have accused each other of actions endangering nuclear safety. Putin also held a private meeting with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, described as “good and friendly” by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Schroeder, chancellor from 1998 to 2005, later worked for Russian state firms and maintained close ties with Putin. Last month Putin indicated willingness to discuss new European security deals with Schroeder as a partner, but EU foreign ministers in Brussels rejected any such role for him.
