With a brief but pointed remark, Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Russia’s proposal that he travel to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, telling a Russian journalist – when asked about it – that he would go to the Russian capital “on a missile”.

The incident took place on 23 September in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, when the Ukrainian president was walking and was repeatedly questioned by Russian journalists about when he intended to visit Moscow.

One of the journalists asked him in Russian: “Volodymyr Alexandrovich, when are we going to Moscow?”

Zelensky replied bluntly: “On a f***ing missile.”

The statement came after the invitation from the Russian president to his Ukrainian counterpart to travel to Moscow for direct talks. Zelensky has repeatedly stated that he is willing to meet Putin, but in a neutral location.

Kremlin on Zelensky: ‘He did not rule out a visit to Moscow’

Despite the Ukrainian president’s ironic response, the Kremlin said it did not interpret it as a rejection of a possible visit.

Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that “Zelensky has not ruled out a visit to Moscow” and added that he had not heard any statement indicating otherwise. “He is making many statements on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York,” he said.

Zelensky and Putin have not met face-to-face since December 2019, when they met in Paris as part of the Normandy format talks mediated by France and Germany. They have not held direct talks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Previous attempts to arrange a meeting

The Ukrainian side has repeatedly attempted to organise a meeting between the two leaders.

Zelensky had invited Putin to Istanbul for talks on 16 May 2025, even proposing a trilateral meeting involving Donald Trump, with the aim of advancing a peace process.

The Russian president did not attend personally and instead sent a delegation led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky.

After his meeting with Putin in Alaska in August 2025, Trump said he was trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders, while he later stated that the Russian president was avoiding meeting Zelensky because he “doesn’t like him”.

Possible meeting at the G20 Summit on the table

The two sides continue to discuss possible formats for direct talks, including a potential trilateral meeting involving the United States.

Zelensky said on 24 September that the G20 Summit in Miami, in mid-December, could provide an opportunity for such a meeting.

The Kremlin, however, said it was “premature” to discuss Vladimir Putin’s participation in the G20 Summit and a possible trilateral meeting with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. “It is premature to talk about this for the time being; no decision has yet been made,” Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

He said Moscow was assessing the invitation and would study it before responding.

The invitation was made public by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Washington had invited Putin to the G20 Summit as an opportunity for contacts “not only with the president, but also with other leaders”.