Ukraine, US, Russia to hold working-level trilateral talks within a week: Zelenskyy after call with Witkoff, Kushner

Kyiv [Ukraine], November 5 (ANI): Ukraine, the United States and Russia are preparing to hold working-level trilateral talks within a week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday (local time) after a detailed conversation with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said the discussion with Witkoff and Kushner lasted around an hour and a half, with the three sides preparing for the next round of diplomatic engagement aimed at ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“We just had a very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long conversation with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. We are preparing for a trilateral format at the team level between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia – to take place in less than a week,” he said.
Zelenskyy also highlighted a substantive meeting held in Brussels involving representatives from Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, NATO, the World Bank and the global business community. The discussions focused on Ukraine's postwar recovery, he said.
He added that another meeting was scheduled in Brussels on Friday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible. Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps. Our proposals are clear, and we have given them to the American side,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian President said air defence remained a key priority in discussions with Washington, particularly the supply of interceptors for Patriot missile defence systems to protect civilians from Russian attacks.
“Air defense is an important priority, and we discussed this as well. We need interceptors for Patriot systems to protect lives from Russian attacks,” he said.
He also stressed the need to continue bilateral engagements with the US, particularly under the proposed Drone Deal format, while expressing gratitude to Washington for its support for Ukraine's independence and diplomatic efforts.
“Peace has no alternative, and postwar security guarantees must be truly cast-iron. We are working to make this happen!” he added.
The diplomatic engagement comes amid continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory and renewed efforts by Washington to facilitate negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Earlier, on November 3, Zelenskyy said at least 29 people were killed and dozens injured in a massive overnight Russian attack targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine.
According to Zelenskyy, Russian forces launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles, primarily targeting energy infrastructure, including power generation facilities and substations across several regions.
The affected regions included Odesa, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv and Rivne, where emergency power outages were reported.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had earlier announced that Washington would mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, focusing on postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and steps towards a peace agreement. (ANI)