[Russia]: Message for Ukraine

[Zak]

RUSSIAN FEDERATION​

Dear President Yulia Tymoshenko,

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your election as President of Ukraine. The Russian Federation acknowledges the choice of the Ukrainian people and expresses its hope that your term in office will mark a period of stability, pragmatism, and renewed dialogue in our shared region.

Russia and Ukraine are bound by deep historical ties, geographic proximity, and long standing economic and cultural connections. It is our conviction that constructive engagement and respectful state-to-state cooperation remain essential to ensuring peace, security, and prosperity for both our nations and for the wider Black Sea region.

In this spirit, the Russian Federation reaffirms its commitment to the Treaty on the Strategic Lease and Joint Security Arrangement Concerning the Crimean Peninsula, as agreed between our governments. We continue to view the Treaty as a balanced framework that safeguards regional stability, protects the rights and welfare of civilian populations, and establishes clear mechanisms for security coordination, dispute resolution, and economic cooperation. Russia remains fully prepared to implement the Treaty’s provisions in good faith and to work closely with your administration to ensure transparency, predictability, and mutual benefit.

More broadly, we reiterate our interest in strengthening Ukrainian–Russian relations across diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, and security dimensions. We believe that sustained dialogue at the highest level is the most effective means of addressing differences, preventing misunderstandings, and identifying areas of practical cooperation.

To that end, I would like to extend a formal invitation for you to visit Moscow at a time convenient to you. Such a visit would provide an opportunity for direct and open discussions on our bilateral agenda, regional security, and future cooperation between our two states.

Please accept, Madam Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. I look forward to the possibility of meeting with you in the near future.

Kind Regards,
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
Russian Federation

This email and any accompanying documents are intended exclusively for the designated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your system. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, distribution, or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Please be advised that all correspondence originating from the Russian Federation is transmitted using state-sanctioned encryption protocols. While every effort has been made to ensure this message and its attachments are free from harmful content, the sender cannot accept liability for any potential damage or data loss resulting from their use.

Vaka

 

[Vaka]

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Encryption: TOP SECRET
Recipient: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, Russian Federation Zak
Sender: President Yulia Tymoshenko, President of Ukraine, Ukraine
Subject: Regarding the Joint Security Arrangement Concerning the Crimean Peninsula.

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Dear President Putin,

I currently hold a copy of the Joint Security Arrangement Concerning the Crimean Peninsula orchestrated by the previous President Kuchma and yourself. This treaty narrowly passed the Verkhovna Rada but remained unsigned by President Kuchma himself. I try and place myself in the frame of mind he must have been in when he helped create this frankly illegal treaty. Maybe that is why he saw fit to leave it unsigned. Maybe he saw the changing of the tide when it comes to the Ukrainian people and its thoughts on self governance.

Alas, I can not place myself in the mind of a corrupt politician who is currently under investigation for crimes committed during his time as president. This so-called treaty will no doubt be used as another piece of evidence at his trial. It is illegal under the Constitution of Ukraine to cede territory to any other nation. It is illegal under the Constitution of Ukraine to sell any piece of sovereignty to any other nation. He obviously knew this and used his influence in the Verkhovna Rada to force it through. To what end, I do not know.

What I do know, President Putin, is that you were misled. I doubt you had any idea of the true intentions of President Kuchma. I doubt that you had any intention of taking sovereign land from the Ukrainian people. This is evidenced by our records showing that no money changed hands. We would appreciate any other knowledge that you might have regarding any illegal deals that President Kuchma might have proposed.

Once this matter is settled, I feel that we can begin to discuss the future of our two nations as equals.

Regards,

Yulia Tymoshenko
President of Ukraine
Ukraine

 

[Zak]

RUSSIAN FEDERATION​

Dear President Yulia Tymoshenko,

Let me be equally direct. The suggestion that the Russian Federation knowingly participated in an “illegal” or unconstitutional scheme is not only incorrect, but deeply offensive. Russia does not conduct statecraft through subterfuge, nor does it predicate international agreements on assumptions of bad faith. We engaged with the Ukrainian state as it existed at the time, represented by its constitutionally empowered leadership, parliamentary institutions, and authorized negotiating teams. To retroactively redefine those interactions as illegitimate may serve present political narratives, but it does not alter historical fact.

Your characterization of President Leonid Kuchma is neither fair nor accurate. He was not a reckless actor, nor was he unaware of the constitutional, political, or historical weight of the matters under discussion. On the contrary, President Kuchma engaged in negotiations with seriousness and restraint, fully cognizant of the sensitivities involved. The fact that he ultimately declined to sign the Joint Security Arrangement should not be recast as evidence of corruption or criminal intent, but rather understood as an act of caution in a rapidly shifting political environment.

However, it is disingenuous to imply that Russia somehow coerced or manipulated the Verkhovna Rada, or that Ukrainian legislators lacked agency or awareness of their own constitution. Ukraine is not, and has never been, a protectorate of the Russian Federation. Your parliament debated the arrangement, voted on it, and narrowly approved it. That outcome reflects Ukrainian political dynamics of the time, not Russian conspiracy.

You state that I was misled. If so, it was by the official representatives of a sovereign state speaking with apparent authority. Russia had no insight into alleged private intentions, internal investigations, or future political reversals within Ukraine. We conduct diplomacy with governments, not with speculation about how history may later judge individual leaders.

I will address your request plainly, there were no illegal deals, no personal payments, and no covert inducements authorized or conducted by the Russian Federation in connection with this arrangement. Any financial terms discussed were state-level, documented, and contingent on lawful ratification. If your investigation suggests otherwise, then it should follow evidence, not implication.

Russia does not fear scrutiny, but we will not accept insinuation as a substitute for proof, nor moral lectures delivered with the benefit of hindsight. Rewriting the past to assign blame externally may be politically convenient, but it does nothing to resolve the present.

You are correct in one final respect, if our nations are to move forward, it must be as equals. Equality, however, requires mutual respect, intellectual honesty, and an understanding that sovereignty cuts both ways, including respect for how states conduct their foreign relations at a given moment in history.

If Ukraine wishes to close this chapter, Russia is prepared to do so through calm, factual, and professional dialogue. But that dialogue must begin from reality, not accusation.

Kind Regards,
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
Russian Federation

This email and any accompanying documents are intended exclusively for the designated recipient(s) and may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender immediately and permanently delete this message from your system. Any unauthorized access, reproduction, distribution, or use of this communication is strictly prohibited.

Please be advised that all correspondence originating from the Russian Federation is transmitted using state-sanctioned encryption protocols. While every effort has been made to ensure this message and its attachments are free from harmful content, the sender cannot accept liability for any potential damage or data loss resulting from their use.

Vaka

 

[Vaka]

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Encryption: TOP SECRET
Recipient: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, Russian Federation Zak
Sender: President Yulia Tymoshenko, President of Ukraine, Ukraine
Subject: Regarding the Joint Security Arrangement Concerning the Crimean Peninsula.

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Dear President Putin,

I am glad that we both can be direct with one another. Our shared histories call for honest and blunt communication. I hope that in the future we can continue in this manner and leave the flowery language often used between foreign nations at the door. I feel we are distant relatives not foreign relations. I truly hope that you and the Russian people feel the same way.

However, our nation has been previously hamstrung by ineptitude and corruption. From the opportunistic politician to the shady industrialist, they slowly bled Ukraine. Ever since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there were functionally no sufficient safeguards in place to prevent this. This stops today. We are taking steps to prevent this from ever happening again.

Now, regarding the relationship between our two nations. I am willing to wipe the slate clean. Whatever happened in the past is gone. We do not hold you or the Russian people responsible for any corruption that might have happened during previous administrations. Like I mentioned previously, I would like us to move forward as equals. We would like open diplomacy where the respect is completely mutual.

Let us talk trade, usually the first step any two nations take when opening mutual diplomacy. We currently have far too many barriers for goods to enter each other's open markets. I feel that we should have almost no barriers in this regard and would like to know your thoughts on the matter. We have a need for crude oil and natural gas and can think of no better nation to buy it from. What does Russia need from Ukrainian markets?

Regards,

Yulia Tymoshenko
President of Ukraine
Ukraine