2,300 drones strike as Ukraine, US, and Russia agree to November peace talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that a trilateral meeting involving Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow will convene in November to restart stalled peace negotiations. The Ukrainian president stated that the talks are ready to proceed, with specific agenda items assigned to different levels of delegation. He clarified that territorial disputes must be resolved at the leadership level, while other technical matters will be handled by specialized working groups.

Zelenskyy reiterated his demand for a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin, asserting that the Russian leader is the sole figure capable of making the major decisions required to end the conflict. During an interview on TSN television, the Ukrainian president outlined the parameters for the upcoming discussions, explicitly stating that Ukraine will not accept talks on limits to its armed forces or enforced postwar neutrality. This stance aligns with Kyiv’s long-term goal of joining NATO, a position that has faced hesitation from certain member states.

The diplomatic push coincides with a significant shift in US support for Ukraine’s air defense systems. Zelenskyy confirmed that US warnings regarding imminent Russian ballistic missile strikes, which are critical for Ukraine’s air defenses, have been fully restored. He noted that SpaceX’s Starshield satellite internet has been operating at speeds of up to 420 km/h since early Saturday. This restoration followed a meeting between Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. The system had been throttled earlier in October under diplomatic pressure from Washington.

Washington has been urging Ukraine to suspend its attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that these strikes drive up global energy prices. Zelenskyy countered that Kyiv will cease these attacks only if Moscow stops targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure, if the US permits Ukraine to use Starshield over Russia to detect ballistic missile launch sites, or if the US supplies Patriot missile systems. These conditions remain a central point of friction in the bilateral relationship.

Amid these diplomatic maneuvers, the intensity of Russian aerial bombardment has increased sharply. Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched nearly 2,300 strike drones at Ukrainian cities over the past week. In an online post, he detailed the weekly attack volume, citing approximately 1,600 guided bombs and 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic missiles, alongside the drone swarm. He renewed his call for Western allies to accelerate the delivery of interceptors to counter this volume of fire.

Russian military strikes continued to target logistics and shipping infrastructure. The Russian defence ministry stated on Sunday that its drones struck a cargo vessel bound for the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk in an overnight attack. A second cargo vessel en route to the port of Odesa was hit during the day. The ministry claimed both vessels were supplying the Ukrainian army. Additionally, Russian forces struck a logistics centre, a distribution centre, and a logistics terminal in the city of Kharkiv overnight. Reuters reported that it had not yet been able to confirm these specific claims from the Russian side.

On the Russian side, a Ukrainian drone attack on the border city of Belgorod resulted in civilian casualties. Local authorities reported that three people were killed and 13 injured in an overnight strike. A separate drone hit later that same day killed one additional person. Regional governor Alexander Shuvayev said the overnight attack damaged 30 apartment buildings in the city.

Political developments in neighboring Bulgaria also intersect with the war’s dynamics. The country’s presidential election on Sunday ended without a decisive winner, setting up a runoff between Andrey Gyurov and Iliana Yotova. Gyurov, the candidate from the pro-Western reformist opposition, is set to face the incumbent leftist president, Iotova. Iotova has favored dialogue with Russia and opposed military aid to Ukraine, whereas Gyurov has expressed firm support for Kyiv. The vote took place amid heightened security concerns following a series of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea.