“Would You Go to Moscow?” Zelenskyy Responds to Trump’s Question With a Joke

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brushed off the idea of traveling to Moscow for peace negotiations with a joke about the very drones his own forces have been sending toward the Russian capital.

The exchange with US President Donald Trump was captured by UNITED24 Media correspondent during the high-stakes bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 8.

Recounting his own discussions with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, about a possible summit, Trump described raising the question of a venue and being told Moscow was the preferred choice.

He rejected it outright. "I said, you're not gonna meet in Moscow. No," Trump recalled.

“Would you go to Moscow?” Trump asked Zelenskyy. “It’s difficult,” Zelenskyy responded. “There are a lot of Ukrainian drones there; it’s dangerous.”

Trump indicated he was reluctant to insert himself directly into the standoff, remarking that he did not think he had to put himself "in this position." He added that he was uncertain the Kremlin would host such a meeting, noting only that Putin "maybe" would agree to it.

The bilateral unfolded as Washington pushed to revive stalled diplomacy over Russia's war, with Trump casting himself as a potential mediator between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy pressed allies for stronger air defenses as Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities intensify.

Zelenskyy's joke drew on a campaign that has increasingly put the Russian capital within reach of Ukrainian strikes.

In mid-June, dozens of Ukrainian drones reached Moscow and its surrounding region, several of them hitting the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya district, roughly 15 kilometers southeast of the Kremlin.

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