Kremlin Says Invitation to Moscow Still Stands After Zelensky Told He’d Get There ‘On a Rocket’

The Kremlin claimed President Volodymyr Zelensky had not rejected an invitation to visit Moscow after the Ukrainian leader told a Russian reporter that he would travel there “on a rocket.”“Zelensky has not refused to come to Moscow. At least, I have not heard that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, Sept. 24, according to Russian state media.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Peskov added that Zelensky had been making “many statements” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.The exchange followed the publication of a video showing a Russian reporter repeatedly shouting after Zelensky: “Volodymyr Oleksandrovych, when are you going to Moscow?”Zelensky initially continued walking without responding before turning and replying in Russian: “Na rakete, blyad” – “On a f**king rocket.”Kremlin insists invitation remains openOn Wednesday, Peskov said Russian leader Vladimir Putin would meet the Ukrainian president only if Zelensky traveled to Moscow.“Putin said that Zelensky, if he wants, can come to Moscow,” Peskov said, claiming that Russia would provide the Ukrainian leader with “the necessary security guarantees.”At the same briefing, however, the Kremlin spokesman said there were “no preconditions” for negotiations to move toward a peaceful settlement.Kyiv Post previously reported that Moscow’s insistence on hosting the meeting had further complicated US efforts to organize direct or trilateral talks among Zelensky, Putin, and US President Donald Trump. Other Topics of Interest Russian Radars and Drone Launch Site Damaged by Ukraine The strikes targeted two air-surveillance radars, an attack drone facility near Donetsk, and a Russian fuel depot in occupied Ukraine. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected the Russian capital as a possible venue while Russia continues its invasion and launches missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities.Zelensky has instead proposed holding talks in a neutral country, naming Turkey, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates among the possible locations.Moscow rejects neutral venuesEarlier in September, Zelensky said he was prepared to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December if the Russian leader attended.The Kremlin rejected that proposal, describing a meeting in Florida as “impossible” and again insisting that direct talks could take place only in Moscow.Zelensky has said he is ready to meet Putin and argued that Trump could organize a trilateral meeting aimed at ending the war.No date, venue, or agreed agenda has been announced for any possible meeting. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.