Zelenskyy sets November date for trilateral Ukraine peace talks

Nearly 2,300 strike drones targeted Ukrainian cities in the past week, a figure Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited on Sunday to underscore the intensity of the current phase of the war. The Ukrainian president used these numbers to renew his call for Western allies to accelerate the delivery of interceptors. This surge in aerial attacks coincides with a diplomatic shift that Zelenskyy announced on Sunday in an interview. He stated that a trilateral meeting involving Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow will take place in November to restart stalled peace negotiations.

Zelenskyy outlined the scope of these upcoming discussions. He indicated that territorial issues must be resolved at the leadership level, while technical groups will handle other matters. "We are ready to talk. If it’s a territorial issue, it must be addressed at a leadership level," he said. The president also renewed his push for a direct meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy believes Putin is the only figure in Moscow capable of making the major decisions required to end the conflict.

The Ukrainian leader set clear boundaries for what his delegation will cover in November. Kyiv will not discuss limits on its armed forces or enforced postwar neutrality. This stance aligns with Ukraine’s long-standing goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move that has faced hesitation from some alliance members. By excluding these topics, Zelenskyy aims to prevent the talks from stalling on structural military questions that Kyiv views as non-negotiable.

Technical communications between the two sides have also improved recently. Zelenskyy told Ukraine’s TSN television channel that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite internet had been operating at speeds of up to 420 kilometers per hour since early Saturday. This restoration followed a meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. The system had been throttled earlier in October as part of diplomatic pressure from Washington. The U.S. has sought to pressure Ukraine to suspend strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing that these attacks push global energy prices higher.

Despite the restored satellite speeds, the exchange of fire continues on the ground. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched about 1,600 guided bombs and 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, during the same week as the drone attacks. He stated that Kyiv will only halt strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow stops targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure, if the U.S. allows Starshield to operate over Russia for detection purposes, or if it supplies Ukraine with Patriot missile systems.

Russian forces continued their attacks on infrastructure and shipping. The Russian defense ministry said its drones struck a cargo vessel bound for the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk overnight. It claimed another cargo vessel en route to the port of Odesa was also hit during the day. The ministry stated these vessels were supplying the Ukrainian army. Russian forces also struck a logistics center, a distribution center, and a logistics terminal in the city of Kharkiv overnight. Reuters could not independently confirm these specific strikes.

In a reciprocal attack, Ukrainian drones hit the Russian border city of Belgorod overnight. Local authorities reported that three people were killed and 13 injured in the initial strike. A separate drone attack later that day killed one more person. Regional governor Alexander Shuvayev said the overnight attack damaged 30 apartment buildings. These strikes occur as diplomatic efforts to slow the fighting gain momentum.

The outcome of Sunday’s presidential election in Bulgaria added another layer to the regional dynamics. The vote ended inconclusively, setting up a runoff between Andrey Gyurov, the pro-Western reformist opposition candidate, and incumbent Iliana Yotova. Yotova opposes military aid to Ukraine and favors dialogue with Russia, while Gyurov has expressed firm support for Kyiv. The vote took place amid security concerns following a series of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.