Zelenskiy’s letter to Putin was intended for other ears

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s open letter offering face-to-face peace talks to end the war in Ukraine was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin but meant to echo through the corridors of this week’s St Petersburg investment forum, and beyond.

Zelenskiy published the letter on Thursday evening as Putin briefed foreign news editors at Russia’s premier business event. The previous day, Ukrainian drones had hit an oil terminal in St Petersburg, sending clouds of smoke billowing into the...