Putin won't meet Zelenskyy: Ukraine's spy boss weighs fallout for Russia
Photo: Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine).
By refusing to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will destroy his propaganda narratives about Ukraine, as the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov told reporters.
Budanov believes that by refusing to meet with Zelenskyy, Putin is destroying Russia's own propaganda idea that Ukraine allegedly does not want to negotiate and end the war.
“I think Putin will not come. But we need to understand that by doing so, they will destroy their own idea that Ukraine is doing everything to evade real peace talks. Our president has taken a decisive step like this, he has directly said 'That's it, I'm coming,' and it's impossible to say that this is something else. In fact, they were not prepared for that,” Budanov said.
Zelenskyy and Putin will not meet
Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed to resume direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to the meeting but set a condition that he would speak only with Putin, not with his envoys. Zelenskyy said he would arrive in Türkiye on May 15 and meet with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. After that, he will wait for Putin and is even ready to fly to Istanbul if he is there.
Russia did not disclose who it would send to Türkiye for some time. But in the evening of May 14, it became known that Putin would not go, but would send his officials instead.
The Russian delegation will be headed by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky, who has already participated in talks with Ukraine in 2022.
According to RBC-Ukraine sources, Zelenskyy will determine the next steps in negotiations with Russia after his meeting with Erdoğan. According to the WSJ, the Ukrainian team may discuss a ceasefire with the Russian delegation.
