Vladimir Putin slams Zelensky over 'rude' letter and refuses face-to-face showdown

Vladimir Putin slams Zelensky over 'rude' letter and refuses face-to-face showdown Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky wrote a letter to Vladimir Putn asking for a face-to-face meeting to bring an end to the war - but the Russian dictator today dismissed the invitation as 'rude' Vladimir Putin has said he will not meet with Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader wrote him a personal letter yesterday calling for face-to-face talks. Speaking in St Petersburg today, the Russian dictator blasted the letter saying it was “rude”. He refused the "direct engagement" offered by Zelensky in a bid to end the war. Putin told a meeting of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum: "And this letter truly does contain elements of rudeness. What is this? Is this a way to create conditions for personal meetings and negotiations? Or is it creating an environment in which it is truly impossible to hold any personal meetings at all?" In a letter addressed directly to the Russian President Zelensky called for an end to the war and even suggested a coup could be brewing in Russia. The Ukrainian leader listed off the difficulties Putin is facing, saying he'd received a report outlining how "30,000 Russian soldiers [were] killed and seriously wounded" in May alone. "It is not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country," he said. "But I do care about Ukrainians." Zelensky suggested Swizterland, Turkey or somewhere in the Arab World as the location for their meeting. "It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be," he said. "I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting." The Russian state-owned TASS news agency this afternoon said Putin he blasted Zelensky’s offer, citing the Ukrainian drone strike on a college dorm in Russian‑occupied city of Starobilsk two weeks ago. He stated that Ukraine was guilty of "such horrific crimes as the murder of children," adding that a he had spoken to a contact who had met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv in May. "Now this morning, I called this, let's say, colleague who had visited Kyiv, and asked, 'What does this mean? They're asking for a meeting and committing such horrific crimes as the murder of children,'" the president said in his address. "What does this mean? He says, 'I have no explanation.' Now they're calling me again. I'll talk to them, then let you know, inform you. I say, 'Please.' I'm not talking to him anymore."