Ukraine: Kyiv sets November date for trilateral peace summit with US and Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia will occur in November. The summit aims to restart peace negotiations that have stalled. Zelenskyy stated in a Sunday interview that his country is ready to discuss territorial issues at the leadership level. He indicated that technical groups can handle other matters during the same timeframe.

Ukraine will maintain its current military posture during these talks. Zelenskyy confirmed that Kyiv will not negotiate limits on its armed forces. The president also ruled out accepting enforced postwar neutrality. This stance supports Ukraine’s long-standing goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move some existing members have viewed with hesitation.

US satellite internet services have been fully restored to Ukrainian air defense systems. Zelenskyy reported that SpaceX’s Starshield network resumed full functionality early Saturday. The system is now operating at speeds of up to 420 kilometers per hour. This restoration followed a meeting in Oslo between Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Washington had previously throttled the service in early October while applying diplomatic pressure on Kyiv.

The US is urging Ukraine to pause its strikes on Russian oil refineries. Washington argues that these attacks drive up global energy prices. Zelenskyy said Kyiv will stop the strikes only under three conditions. Moscow must cease hitting Ukrainian power infrastructure, the US must allow Starshield use over Russia to detect ballistic missile launches, or the US must supply Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

Russian air attacks continued at a high volume over the past week. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched nearly 2,300 strike drones at Ukrainian cities in seven days. In an online post, he detailed that Russia also fired about 1,600 guided bombs and 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, during the same period. He called on western allies to accelerate deliveries of interceptor systems.

Russian forces conducted further strikes on logistics and shipping infrastructure on Sunday. The Russian defense ministry said drones hit a cargo vessel heading to the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk overnight. A second drone struck a cargo vessel en route to the port of Odesa during the day. Russian forces also targeted a logistics center, a distribution center, and a terminal in Kharkiv. Reuters could not independently verify these specific targets.

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed three people and injured 13, local authorities said. Regional Governor Alexander Shuvayev reported that the overnight strike damaged 30 apartment buildings. A separate drone hit in Belgorod later that day killed one more person. In Bulgaria, a presidential election ended without a clear winner on Sunday. Reformist candidate Andrey Gyurov will face incumbent Iliana Yotova in a runoff. Yotova favors dialogue with Russia, while Gyurov supports Kyiv. The vote took place amid security concerns following recent drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.