New York, New York - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold talks in Moscow, saying he would only travel to the Russian capital "on a missile."
Asked repeatedly by a reporter for Russian state television on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's annual general debate when he would go to Moscow, Zelensky responded, using a Russian expletive: "On a missile, blyad!"
"Blyad" is used in Russian to express anger, surprise, or frustration and can be translated as "d**n it," depending on the context in which it is used.
The clip has been shared widely by Ukrainian and Russian media, with Russian outlets censoring the expletive.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who is part of the Russian delegation in New York, mocked Zelensky over the video, suggesting he was afraid of meeting a fatal end if he traveled to Moscow.
Zelensky met President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Debate on Wednesday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine, launched in February 2022. As expected, no concrete results were made public afterwards.
Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that he wants to meet Putin to discuss a resolution to the conflict.
The Russian president, however, has said he would only agree to a meeting in Moscow, a request Zelenksy denies, not just for security reasons, but also to avoid giving the impression that Kyiv is submitting to Moscow.