Putin says Zelensky should come to Moscow — as Russia unleashes massive attack on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that he should come to Moscow to hold peace talks — all while Moscow fired more than 500 drones and missiles at Kyiv overnight, wrecking energy and civilian infrastructure.

Putin, who was attending Beijing’s massive military parade on Wednesday, claimed he “never refused” a meeting with Zelensky, tip-toeing around the fact that President Trump’s two-week deadline for such a meeting came and went without any action from the Kremlin.

“If Zelenskyy is ready for a meeting, let him come to Moscow,” Putin told the state-owned TASS outlet.

Zelensky has repeatedly demanded Putin meet with him to prove he is serious about ending the war, a request Putin has long-rejected by claiming that the Ukrainian president is an “illegitimate leader.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha slammed Putin’s proposal for Zelensky to willingly enter enemy territory as the war rages on as “unacceptable,” adding that a plethora of third-party nations have already offered to host peace talks.

“These are serious proposals and President Zelenskyy is ready for such a meeting at any point of time. Yet, Putin continues to mess around,” Sybiha said in a statement, calling on the West to ramp up pressure against Moscow to end the war.

“Only increased pressure can force Russia to finally get serious about [the] peace process,” he added.

President Trump, who has been working to broker a meeting between the two leaders, told reporters Wednesday that he would be speaking with Putin to pressure him to negotiate with Zelensky directly.

Trump is scheduled to speak with Zelensky on Thursday, with the US president previously saying that a trilateral meeting between him and the two leaders was the most likely outcome.

Putin’s taunts come as Russia fired 502 drones and 24 missiles fired over the border, with 69 UAVs and three rockets avoiding Kyiv’s defenses and striking 14 locations across the country, according to Ukraine’s air force.

One of the attacks hit four railway workers in Ukraine‘s central Kirovohrad region, causing delays of up to seven hours in the key transportation hub as a result of damages to the facilities, officials said.

Five others were injured in an attack that targeted the railway hub of Znamianka, where 28 civilian homes were also struck by the Russian bombardment, Ukraine’s emergency services said.  

The attack also cut off power to 30,000 customers and critical civilian infrastructure further north in Chernihiv, regional Gov. Viacheslav Chaus said in a statement.

Zelensky slammed Wednesday’s attack on his nation’s infrastructure, accusing Moscow of routinely targeting workers desperately trying to keep civilian networks running in the face of Russia’s invasion.

“The main targets were civilian infrastructure, particularly energy facilities, a transportation hub, even a garage cooperative, and, as has already become routine for the Russians, residential areas,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“These are clearly demonstrative Russian strikes,” he added. “Putin is showing his impunity.”

As Moscow continues to bombard Ukraine, Putin is attending a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in China.

During the parade, which united Beijing’s allies to stand as a force opposing the West’s global influence, Putin extended an invitation for Kim to visit him in Moscow.

“We are waiting for you, come visit us,” Putin was recorded saying as Kim hugged him goodbye.

Kim, in turn, vowed to continue serving as Putin’s key defense partner. The North Korean dictator has already deployed more than 12,000 of his troops to fight in Russia and provided millions in ammunition and military equipment.

While both leaders had initially remained silent on the arrangement, they have since become vocal about the growing military partnership, with Putin describing the hundreds of Pyongyang soldiers who have died helping Russia take back the Kursk region earlier this year as “courageous and heroic.”

With Post wires