At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary on Friday, Russian President Putin rejected Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s proposal for a face-to-face meeting to end the war, saying such a meeting would be "meaningless." Putin said he had quickly read Zelenskiy’s letters and described their tone as "rude," asking whether the letters sought to create conditions for talks or to make talks impossible and saying they did the latter. He added Russia is closely monitoring its armed forces’

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary on Friday, Russian President Putin rejected Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s proposal for a face-to-face meeting to end the war, saying such a meeting would be "meaningless." Putin said he had quickly read Zelenskiy’s letters and described their tone as "rude," asking whether the letters sought to create conditions for talks or to make talks impossible and saying they did the latter. He added Russia is closely monitoring its armed forces’ operations and drew applause after urging "keep going, brothers."