The key facts

  • Zelensky held 1.5-hour talks with Witkoff and Kushner on preparations for the Russia–Ukraine–USA summit on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi
  • A meeting on post-war reconstruction was held in Brussels with the participation of the USA, Ukraine, the EU, the UK, Germany, France, NATO and the World Bank
  • Kyiv is requesting additional interceptor missiles for Patriot systems and continues work on bilateral tracks, including the 'drone deal'

Preparations for the trilateral summit

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said he held one-and-a-half-hour talks with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. According to him, the conversation was devoted to preparations for the Russia–Ukraine–USA summit, which is to take place on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi. He announced this on Wednesday evening in a post on the social network X, Anadolu reports.

Brussels: reconstruction and security guarantees

In parallel, according to Zelensky, a substantive meeting on post-war reconstruction was held in Brussels with the participation of representatives of the USA, Ukraine, the EU, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, NATO, the World Bank and the international business community. The next day, another meeting is scheduled there — on security guarantees for Ukraine. 'Talks must proceed at full capacity so that this war can be ended as quickly as possible,' Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps and has presented its proposals to the American side.

Air defense and bilateral tracks

Zelensky emphasized that an important priority is additional support for air defense: Kyiv needs interceptor missiles for Patriot systems to protect against Russian strikes. He also noted that Ukraine will continue work on each of the bilateral tracks with the USA, in particular on the 'drone deal' format. 'There is no alternative to peace, and post-war security guarantees must be truly ironclad,' Anadolu quotes him as saying.

Context of the negotiation process

Zelensky's statement came at the end of his two-day visit to Germany, where he held meetings with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius. Earlier in the week, Witkoff announced that Washington would act as mediator at working talks between Russia and Ukraine on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian issues and further steps toward peace. According to the outlet, previous talks mediated by the USA took place earlier this year: three rounds on January 23–24, February 4–5 and February 17–18, the first two in Abu Dhabi and the third in Geneva.