Zelensky demands a place in Ukraine negotiations
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on L’essentiel
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the resumption of US intelligence-sharing after talks with Donald Trump’s envoys, while asking to take part in negotiations on his country’s future. According to the Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk also ordered Starshield connectivity in Ukraine to be restricted, rendering some drones unusable.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday 20 October called for a place at any negotiations on Ukraine’s future and welcomed the resumption of US intelligence-sharing. He was speaking after talks with US envoys, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were “very productive and constructive”, a US official told AFP. He referred to “strong alignment” between Washington, Kyiv and the Europeans on the next steps and announced that Witkoff was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to continue the diplomatic process.
Zelensky’s request comes after several statements by Donald Trump on how the negotiations should be conducted. The US president notably pressed Ukraine to reach a deal with Russia on 20 October, after saying on 16 October that he would rather negotiate with Putin than with Zelensky. These statements highlighted tensions between Washington and Kyiv ahead of the talks with the US envoys.
Update, 21 October 2026: Volodymyr Zelensky said he supported a meeting between the Ukrainian, Russian and US teams, to be organised as soon as possible. Read: Zelensky backs a meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
