Zelensky says US-Ukraine-Russia talks expected in November; Kyiv disputes Musk on Starlink

Mixed · 2Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine, the United States and Russia are expected to hold trilateral talks in November, seeking to revive stalled negotiations. 1 2 Mixed · 2Zelensky said territorial questions must be settled at leaders' level and other issues by technical groups, adding: "we are not exchanging anything for anything". 1 2 Left · 1According to the Independent, Zelensky also said they would not want to approach a meeting of the three leaders with all sanctions on Russia lifted, saying they did not want to face Putin "without tools, without sanctions, without money, or without frozen assets". 2

Centre · 1Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that officials were preparing a trilateral meeting in the United Arab Emirates next month, AFP reported, as quoted by Hindustan Times. 1 Centre · 1The push follows US envoy Steve Witkoff's talks with Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo on Tuesday, before Witkoff travelled to meet Vladimir Putin the next day. 1 Left · 1The Independent, citing agency reports, adds that Kyiv and Moscow agreed on Friday to a localised ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump. 2

Centre · 1Hindustan Times reports growing tension between Donald Trump and Zelensky: Trump said last week he was open to meeting Putin and Xi Jinping and suggested "it's time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate", while accusing Zelensky of not wanting to end the war. 1 Centre · 1The Wall Street Journal reported, per Hindustan Times, that Putin proposed a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi during an October 9 call, which also led to a deal for the US to buy Russian diesel. 1 Left · 1On Starlink, Ukraine said its access to Starlink and Starshield services was restored over the weekend. Defence minister Yevhenii Khmara said connections were stable above 400 kph, ending restrictions that Ukrainian officials said had disrupted front-line operations for over a week. 2

Left · 1Elon Musk, who had earlier blamed the throttling on the White House, said on Saturday that the Ukrainian military used Starlink "for offensive drone strikes to kill people", breaching its terms of use. 2 Left · 1Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelensky, rejected this, saying the restrictions would have made such strikes "physically impossible" and that the civilian Starlink system in Ukraine "does not function over the territory of Russia". 2 Left · 1Zelensky said they discussed both Starlink and restored US warnings of Russian ballistic missile strikes with Witkoff in Oslo, presenting the changes as results of that meeting, and said Kyiv could halt strikes on Russian oil refineries if Moscow stopped hitting Ukraine's power grid, or if the US allowed Starshield use over Russia or supplied Patriot missiles. 2

Left · 1Cross-border fighting continued: Russian local officials said a Ukrainian drone attack on Belgorod killed three people and injured 13, with the toll later rising, and a missile strike in Yelets killed a security guard; Reuters could not independently verify the reports. 2