Ukraine war briefing: Trilateral peace talks with Russia to restart, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine, US and Russia will hold trilateral peace talks in November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, renewing his push for a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy confirmed the trilateral meeting will address territorial issues at leadership level, with technical groups handling other matters. "We are ready to talk. If it's a territorial issue, it must be addressed at a leadership level. Other issues fall within the remit of the technical groups. All this can therefore be discussed in November," he said in an interview.
The Ukrainian president emphasized Ukraine's position that it won't discuss limits to its armed forces or enforced postwar neutrality at these talks, as Kyiv continues to seek Nato membership despite some members' reservations.
Starshield restored
US warnings about Russian ballistic missile strikes targeting Ukraine's air defenses have been fully restored, Zelenskyy told Ukraine's TSN television. SpaceX's Starshield satellite internet service, which had been throttled earlier in October amid diplomatic pressure, is now working at speeds of up to 420km/h since early Saturday.
This week alone, Russia has launched about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, and almost 2,300 strike drones at Ukraine.
Diplomatic tensions
The US has been pressuring Ukraine to suspend strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Washington claims push energy prices higher. Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated Kyiv will only stop these attacks if Russia stops hitting Ukraine's power infrastructure, if the US allows Ukraine to use Starshield over Russia to detect missile launch sites, or if it supplies Ukraine with Patriot missiles.
Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry reported Sunday that its drones struck cargo vessels bound for Ukrainian Black Sea ports, claiming they were supplying the Ukrainian army. Russian forces also hit logistics facilities in Kharkiv. In return, Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed three people and injured 13, damaging 30 apartment buildings, according to regional governor Alexander Shuvayev.
Bulgarian election
Bulgaria's presidential election ended inconclusively on Sunday, with a runoff needed to choose between pro-western reformist opposition candidate Andrey Gyurov and incumbent leftist president Iliana Yotova. Gyurov has expressed firm support for Ukraine, while Yotova opposes military aid and favors dialogue with Russia. The vote occurred amid security concerns following drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.
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