Zelenskiy offers Putin talks at G7, or in the United States

Volodymyr Zelenskiy used the ruins of a damaged Kyiv monastery to press a bigger diplomatic point: he said he had offered Vladimir Putin a meeting at the G7 summit in France, and even in the United States, to test whether Moscow was serious about ending the war. Speaking at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra after an overnight Russian attack that killed at least 10 people nationwide, Zelenskiy cast the proposal as both an opening for peace and a challenge to Russia to show up.

The Ukrainian president said the United States had agreed to invite Putin to the gathering in Evian-les-Bains, where the G7 met from June 15-17, 2026. He argued that the presence of Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Europeans and the United States together would create a strong setting for talks. Zelenskiy later wrote on Telegram that he had suggested to Trump in a Sunday phone call that the meeting could instead be held in the United States, where it would be harder for Putin to refuse.

Ukraine said it had already passed the invitation directly to Russian counterparts, but had not received a clear response. Zelenskiy also said he had informed the Americans and Macron about the proposal. The messaging was aimed at two audiences at once: Kyiv’s Western backers, who want to see whether Trump can extract even a first step toward negotiations, and the Kremlin, which Zelenskiy wants to put on the spot in public.

The appeal came after an attack that hit Kyiv and Kharkiv and badly damaged the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a 1,000-year-old monastery that is one of Ukraine’s most important religious and cultural landmarks. Zelenskiy has tied the diplomacy to battlefield reality, saying his immediate priority at the G7 was securing more air defense systems as Russian strikes continue to kill civilians and strain Ukraine’s defenses.

The push followed an open letter Zelenskiy sent to Putin earlier in June, offering face-to-face talks in a neutral country and warning that the war was increasing pressure on Russia’s economy. Putin rejected the idea and said he saw no reason for such a meeting. Macron said he wanted the United States to keep backing Ukraine and help build what he described as meaningful negotiations, while Trump said after his calls with Zelenskiy and Putin that “maybe we can do something” on Ukraine at the G7.