Ukraine ready for US-backed talks with Russia: Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to participate in trilateral talks with the United States and Russia this month, endorsing a rapid timetable to resume negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. He made the remarks at a news conference in Kyiv alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, confirming Kyiv has told Washington it will support a swift schedule.

Zelenskyy said technical-level negotiations are being pushed by the United States for completion by the end of October, and that the United Arab Emirates — which previously hosted talks — could again serve as host. He added Ukraine would also meet in “another country proposed by the American side.” According to Zelenskyy, Washington has been in contact with Moscow about the plan, and the Kremlin last month said it did not rule out three-way talks this month.

The comments come while both Kyiv and Moscow continue to pursue long-range strikes on what they describe as military and related targets. Russian authorities have said they are targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches; last year similar attacks caused prolonged power and heating outages during extremely low temperatures.

Zelenskyy criticized what he described as Russia’s daily escalation and said Kyiv has observed systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure, including data centres and mobile network facilities. Alongside US efforts to re-engage in ceasefire talks, India said it intends to increase its mediation role. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told the Munich Security Conference in New Delhi that India has recently become more involved in issues ranging from Black Sea shipping to grain and energy exports and is looking at “non-attack possibilities.”