Zelenskyy has confirmed for the first time that russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is acting as a back-channel between Kyiv and Moscow.

“Abramovich came to Kyiv, delivered a message from Putin to me, and wanted to receive a message from me for Putin,” Zelenskyy said. The oligarch insisted the exchange stay private – to which Zelenskyy responded that nothing stays secret with russia for long.

The key points from his remarks:

- Ukraine will continue to strike deep inside russia.

- We will not simply die in silence. We will respond. We will grow stronger and stronger every day.

- A freeze of the front line is the fastest path to peace with russia. But the war must be stopped in a way that prevents it from happening again. Therefore diplomacy must begin only after a ceasefire is established.

- Putin must respond to the open letter. The offer of a meeting remains on the table – any day, any format, anywhere outside russia or belarus.

- On russian claims that the letter was “insolent,” Zelenskyy replied: “They haven’t seen the first version.”

- On Donbas, his message through Abramovich was blunt: Ukraine will not leave, and will not hand russia a victory that way.