Zelenskyy confirms November date for three-way Ukraine peace summit

Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow will take place in November. The session aims to restart peace negotiations that have stalled in recent months. The Ukrainian president stated in an interview that his government is prepared to negotiate immediately. He specified that territorial questions must be resolved at the leadership level. Other operational issues will be handled by technical working groups.

Zelenskyy reiterated his demand for a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin. He argued that Putin is the only Russian official capable of making the final decisions required to end the conflict. The president indicated that the November framework allows for these high-level discussions while technical teams manage the details.

Kyiv has set specific boundaries for the upcoming talks. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will not negotiate limits on the size of its armed forces. The government also rejected the idea of enforced postwar neutrality. This stance aligns with Ukraine's long-term goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move that has faced hesitation from some alliance members.

The diplomatic push coincides with the restoration of US satellite internet services. Zelenskyy confirmed that SpaceX's Starshield system is operating at speeds of up to 420 kilometers per hour. The service had been throttled earlier in October amid pressure from Washington. The restoration followed a meeting between Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo.

Washington has urged Ukraine to pause strikes on Russian oil refineries to curb rising energy prices. Zelenskyy countered that Kyiv will halt these attacks only if Moscow stops targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure. He added that Ukraine will also stop if the US allows Starshield usage over Russian territory to detect missile launches or provides additional Patriot missile systems.

The military situation on the ground remains intense. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched nearly 2,300 strike drones at Ukrainian cities over the past week. In an online post, he detailed the specific weaponry used in the recent seven-day period. The tally included about 1,600 guided bombs and 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic models.

Russia's defense ministry claimed its drones struck two cargo vessels on Sunday. One ship was bound for the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk during an overnight attack. The other was en route to Odesa during the day. Moscow stated the vessels were supplying the Ukrainian army. Russian forces also hit a logistics center, a distribution center, and a terminal in Kharkiv overnight. Reuters reported it could not independently confirm these strikes.

In the west, local authorities in the Russian border city of Belgorod reported a deadly Ukrainian drone attack. Three people were killed and 13 injured in an overnight strike that damaged 30 apartment buildings. A separate drone strike later in the day killed another person. Meanwhile, Bulgaria's presidential election ended inconclusively, setting up a runoff between Andrey Gyurov and Iliana Yotova.