'Fight for your existence,' Zelensky tells Putin in letter demanding face-to-face talks & Ukraine strikes five Russian ships
Ukraine: The Latest
Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley
4.8 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Day 1,561.
Today, Adelie and Dom look at how Ukraine continues embarrassing Russia during its three-day International Economic Forum, as Zelensky publishes an open letter to Vladimir Putin where he points out Russia’s weaknesses. He again asks the Russian president for a face-to-face meeting to bring the war to an end. As we record the episode, Putin is set to take the stage in St Petersburg. Then, we discuss China’s increasing involvement enabling the occupation in the occupied territories and how the Ukrainian resistance may have contributed to Ukraine’s successful mid-range campaign.
Contributors:
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @adeliepjz on X.
Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Dr Jade McGlynn (Occupied Territories Expert, King’s College London).
Producer: Rachel Porter
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Max Bower
Social Producer: Katie Inglis
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles
NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest
CONTENT REFERENCED:
Full text of Zelensky's open letter to Putin
https://kyivindependent.com/full-text-of-zelenskys-open-letter-to-putin/
'Just a show for Putin' — Inside the 2026 St. Petersburg Economic Forum (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/just-a-show-for-putin-inside-the-2026-st-petersburg-economic-forum/
Russia is flooding Ukraine with fake migrant stories — and it's working (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/inside-the-campaign-behind-ukraines-migrant-influx-panic/
EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 'Fight for your existence,' Zelensky tells Putin in letter demanding face-to-face talks
- How China is enabling the Russian regime in the occupied territories
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. I'm Adeli Pozman-Ponthe, and this is Ukraine, the latest. Today, we look at how Ukraine |
| 0:15.1 | continues embarrassing Russia during its three-day international economic forum, as Zelensky |
| 0:20.6 | publishes an open letter |
| 0:22.1 | to Vladimir Putin, where he points out Russia's weaknesses. He again asks the Russian president |
| 0:27.8 | for a face-to-face meeting to bring the war to an end. As we record this episode, Putin is set |
| 0:33.6 | to take the stage in St. Petersburg, we shall have more on that later. |
| 0:42.8 | Then, we discuss China's increasing involvement enabling the occupation in the occupied territories and how the Ukrainian resistance may have contributed to Ukraine's successful mid-range campaign. |
| 0:49.6 | Bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory. |
| 0:59.0 | The Russian does not want peace. |
| 1:01.0 | First, we're fighting, with our help for the Ukraine, |
| 1:05.0 | also our freedom and our European Writers. |
| 1:10.0 | If I'm president, I will have that war settled |
| 1:12.1 | in one day, 24 hours. |
| 1:13.9 | We are with you, not just today or tomorrow, |
| 1:17.3 | but for 100 years. |
| 1:18.9 | We can't as European |
| 1:20.8 | let's gain the Russia in Ukraine. |
| 1:23.5 | Nobody's going to break us. |
| 1:25.5 | We're strong. |
| 1:26.8 | We're Ukrainians. |
| 1:29.4 | It's Friday, the 5th of June. Four years and 101 days since the full-scale invasion began. |
| 1:36.7 | Today, I'm joined by my co-host, Dom Nichols, and Dr. Jade McGlynn of King's College, London. |
... |
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