Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday rejected what he called Vladimir Putin’s “historical s—,” stating he has no desire to argue about the past and remains focused on ending the war.
In a sharp post on X, Zelenskyy labeled these claims a “delay tactic,” accusing Moscow of employing them to hinder substantive negotiations. He contended that the sole topic worth addressing with Putin is how to achieve a rapid and successful conclusion to the war.
Putin has frequently advanced historical arguments about Ukraine and Russia, including a 2021 essay in which he asserted that “Russians and Ukrainians were one people” and the two nations form “essentially the same historical and spiritual space.” Zelenskyy argued that historical debates will not help achieve peace and would only extend the time needed to reach a settlement.
“I have been to Russia – to many cities. And I knew a lot of people there. He [Putin] has never been to Ukraine this many times. He was only in big cities. I went to small cities. From the northern part to the southern part. Everywhere. I know their mentality. That’s why I don’t want to lose time on all these things,” .
The comments followed another round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Switzerland; meetings that the Ukrainian president indicated had yielded minimal progress.
“As of today, we cannot say that the results in Geneva are sufficient,” Zelenskyy stated, noting that while military officials had addressed certain topics “seriously and substantively,” delicate political issues, potential compromises, and a possible summit between leaders have not yet been thoroughly explored.
Mark Rutte questioned at the Munich Security Conference last week whether Russia is genuinely committed to negotiations, pointing out that Moscow once again dispatched presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky—who has previously highlighted historical themes in discussions—to head the talks in Geneva.
According to a translation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Medinsky described the two days of talks as “difficult but businesslike.”
that Medinsky, who has served as a Kremlin aide since 2020, is regarded as a close associate whose views on Ukrainian history closely align with the Russian president’s.
In a November op-ed for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, he wrote, “It would seem obvious to anyone familiar with history at the primary school level: Russians and Ukrainians are historically—one people.”