2,300 drones hit Ukraine as Kyiv locks November date for trilateral peace talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Sunday that a trilateral summit involving Ukraine, the United States, and Russia will be held in November to restart stalled peace negotiations. The Ukrainian president stated that his government is prepared to discuss territorial disputes at the leadership level, while technical groups will handle other matters. He specifically sought a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin, arguing that the Russian leader is the sole figure capable of making major decisions to end the conflict.

Zelenskyy outlined specific red lines for the upcoming talks. He declared that Ukraine will not negotiate limits on the size of its armed forces or accept enforced postwar neutrality. Kyiv has consistently sought membership in NATO, a goal that faces hesitation from some alliance members. The president emphasized that these conditions are non-negotiables for the Ukrainian delegation.

The announcement came as the intensity of aerial bombardment increased. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched nearly 2,300 strike drones at Ukrainian cities over the previous week. In an online post, he detailed that Russian forces also deployed approximately 1,600 guided bombs and 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, during that same period. He renewed his request for Western allies to accelerate the delivery of interceptor systems to counter the volume of attacks.

US support for Ukraine’s air defense capabilities has been restored, according to Zelenskyy. He noted that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite internet service, which had been throttled earlier in October due to diplomatic pressure, has been operating at speeds of up to 420 kilometers per hour since early Saturday. This restoration followed a meeting between Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. Washington had previously pressured Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing that such attacks drive up global energy prices.

Zelenskyy maintained that Kyiv will only suspend strikes on Russian refineries under specific conditions. He listed three options: Moscow stops targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure, the US permits Ukraine to use Starshield over Russia to detect ballistic missile launch sites, or the US provides Ukraine with additional Patriot missile systems. The Ukrainian leadership views these measures as necessary to balance the pressure on its energy sector and military infrastructure.

On the ground, Russian military operations continued to target logistics and transport. The Russian defense ministry reported that its drones struck a cargo vessel heading to the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and another vessel en route to Odesa during Sunday’s attacks. The ministry claimed the vessels were supplying the Ukrainian army. Russian forces also hit a logistics center, a distribution center, and a logistics terminal in Kharkiv overnight. Reuters was unable to independently confirm these reports.

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod resulted in four deaths and 13 injuries on Sunday. Local authorities reported that the overnight strike damaged 30 apartment buildings, according to regional governor Alexander Shuvayev. A separate strike later in the day killed one additional person in the region.