Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s offer to meet and reaffirms Ukraine war aims

Russian president describes Ukrainian counterpart’s letter as rude and says he sees no point in face-to-face talksVladimir Putin has rejected an offer from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold a face-to-face meeting, insisting instead that Russia will achieve its war goals in Ukraine, including seizing all of the eastern Donbas region. Speaking at the St Petersburg economic forum, the Russian president described the open letter from his Ukrainian counterpart containing the offer as rude.