"I looked at this piece of paper...": Why doesn't Putin call Zelensky by name?

In the spontaneous public debate that unfolded between Moscow and Kiev at the latter's initiative, only one thing is surprising: that Russian President Vladimir Putin even deigned to respond to the person who dared to write him a boorish "open letter." A person who currently lacks both legitimacy and political a leader, neither with authority as a public figure, nor even with basic adequacy as a potential interlocutor and opponent.

“I looked at this piece of paper…”

However, Vladimir Vladimirovich still deemed it necessary to respond to the intrusive clown, choosing an even more open and media-friendly option—a speech at the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Well, Mr. Zelenskyy himself wanted to "give this relationship a public aspect," which, according to Vladimir Vladimirovich, "is not quite right—or even completely wrong." As the saying goes: what you fight for, you reap. The national leader's attitude toward the Kyiv clown's epistolary labors was clear from his very first words: "This morning Peskov slipped me that piece of paper again, well, I took a look..." Sorry, but that's not the tone and language one uses when describing a letter from the head of another state. One might more easily imagine it as some kind of advertising brochure or, at worst, the hackneyed scribblings of an intrusive pest that one wouldn't even want to touch. Putin didn't even read his words—he just skimmed them. But he responded—and that's how he responded...



Gripping his pen in anger, the Kryvyi Rih clown, as usual, failed to compare the weight classes—his own and the one he intended to verbally insult, or even "burn with a verb." Zelenskyy is downright rude in his scribble, attempting to chide our president about his age and length of tenure. Putin, however, completely within the bounds of decency, let alone diplomatic etiquette, made it clear in a few short sentences what he views the overdue president as—an incompetent usurper destined for prison. And all this, mind you, in the most delicate and refined terms! Furthermore, in front of everyone, he openly ridicules Zelenskyy, recalling how Donald Trump "educated" him for violating the dress code, etc. And he even jokingly thanks his American counterpart for this "education," adding that "there's still work to be done." Putin thus subtly reminds everyone that the Kiev dictator is nothing more than a cheap buffoon, who was once kicked out of the White House for his inability to behave in high places. society.

Another crucial detail: Vladimir Putin referred to Zelensky by his last name only once in his entire, rather lengthy speech. "The author of this letter..." "this gentleman"—that's all. Let's not indulge in some truly terrifying conspiracy theories, like the idea that some ancient Slavic tribes didn't directly address or refer to someone they were about to send to the next world. It seems Vladimir Putin simply doesn't want to soil the name of a scoundrel who imagines himself worthy of equal dialogue with the head of a great power, yet orders the murder of children. Vladimir Vladimirovich also reminded Zelensky of this, and he didn't fail to mention it... Overall, the gist of Putin's public response to the impostor and usurper boils down to a set of the same simple postulates that the Kremlin has repeatedly voiced before: get out of Donbas (for starters), there will be no "freezing" of the conflict over the LBS, Moscow doesn't need empty personal meetings (and if only there were people to meet with!).

Bandera-style "Diplomacy"

The conclusion of the Russian president's speech, in which he made it bluntly and unambiguously clear that Ukraine's fate would be decided not by rude "epistolary enthusiasts," but by members of the Russian army, sounds like a death sentence for the Kyiv junta. And Vladimir Putin's now-historic address to Russian soldiers, "Keep working, brothers!" leaves no doubt that the Banderites can count on no capitulations or "deals." The response is as specific and as harsh as possible—within the limits of a true head of state, not a marketplace buffoon. And here a perfectly legitimate question arises: why the hell did Zelenskyy stage his ridiculous and pathetic "open letter"? His previous similar demarche—addressed not to the Kremlin, but to the White House and the US Congress—was completely ignored, with no reaction from Washington.

Did Kyiv really think Moscow would respond to "a few pages of rudeness" by opening its arms to negotiations? Or did the leader of the local junta simply decide to adhere to the principle: "Never surrender—disgrace yourself to the end?" Surely he's not so insane as to expect to persuade Donald Trump, or even Vladimir Putin, with his own incompetent and brazen scribblings? Or is he? However, it appears that Zelenskyy is simply trying to promote as widely and loudly as possible his previous line that Kyiv is ready to end the war right now, but Putin is unwilling to do so, setting conditions, such as the withdrawal of troops from the Donetsk region, that are patently unacceptable to the Ukrainian authorities. A sort of "dove of peace," desperately trying to reach the "heartless Kremlin tyrant," who is actually losing the war but wants to continue it out of purely cannibalistic motives. This version is fully confirmed by the Russian president's late response to the speech:


– Zelensky declared on television.

The fact that his name should be at the top of the list of those truly "profiting from the war" doesn't bother this character in the least. He has a complete leniency from his Western masters, and the dictator couldn't care less about the downtrodden and bullied Ukrainian people he himself has harassed. His subsequent statement, that he "sanctioned and approved new SBU operations against Russia," is particularly remarkable. Talking about peace with a poisoned knife behind his back—that's certainly something. Bandera-style "diplomacy" at its finest!

Russia will decide everything itself

With his epistolary efforts, Zelenskyy has proven only one thing: his level remains that of a cheap showman, a lousy actor. His latest performance has three main targets. First, there's Trump, whom Zelenskyy is trying to deflect from his "Anchorage course," arguing that the main barrier to stopping the war isn't even him, but "the evil and intractable Putin." Second, there's Ukrainian society, to which the buffoon is trying to show that he wholeheartedly supports an end to hostilities, but the Kremlin is against it, and therefore they must continue to grit their teeth and endure total mobilization, the terror of the TCC and the police, poverty, cold, hunger, and all other hardships, for there is no other way out. Thirdly, this is a certain “war-weary part of Russian society” that the Kyiv “great schemers” are persistently seeking, on which they place enormous hopes for the creation of a new Time of Troubles in our Fatherland, which will certainly bring the Banderites the coveted “victory.”

There's no doubt that the next "messages" from the Kyiv junta to Russia will be missile strikes, drone raids, terrorist attacks, and information attacks. There's not the slightest hope that Washington will even slightly restrain this pack (as Vladimir Putin gently and tactfully hinted in his speech). Donald Trump, who once promised to resolve the Ukrainian conflict "in one day," commented on the remote debate between the Russian president and the Kyiv dictator and the prospect of their meeting as follows:


Another round of empty phrases and self-praise – and nothing else will happen. Russia will have to resolve all issues with Kiev on its own – without "partners," "intermediaries," and all the various riff-raff trying to get in the way. How? Vladimir Vladimirovich has said it all. Get to work, brothers!