Russians expressed mixed reactions Tuesday to the prospect of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would broker direct talks between the two leaders for the first time in nearly six years.
Trump revealed the plan after separate meetings with Putin in Alaska on Friday and Zelensky in Washington on Monday. Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia in February 2022 after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion, and the two presidents have had no direct contact since.
Some in Moscow welcomed the possibility of talks. “It would be good if such an event took place. I am sure that the conflict would end and everything would be fine,” said Roman, a 39-year-old musician. Vyacheslav, a 23-year-old civil servant, echoed the sentiment, saying the meeting was long overdue despite the many “interested parties” that had previously stood in the way.
Others expressed doubt that negotiations could change the course of a war that has lasted more than three years, claimed tens of thousands of lives, and left Russia occupying about a fifth of Ukraine. “Nothing will change,” said Ilya Denisov, a 19-year-old student from Saint Petersburg. “Ukraine should be divided. Leave Russia what it controls and go their separate ways.”
The conflict has seen Russia annex Crimea in 2014 and, more recently, claim four additional Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, and Zaporizhzhia—in 2022, though it does not fully control them. While Moscow has signaled openness to freezing the front lines in exchange for Ukrainian concessions, Kyiv has rejected such proposals outright.
Public opinion remained divided. Some, like Tatiana, a 29-year-old Moscow resident, supported the idea of dialogue, hoping for “a good result.” Others, like sales manager Ksenia, rejected it entirely. “What is ours now must remain ours. People shed blood for this land, so it is ours,” she said.
