Ukraine Warupdated 50m ago2 min read
Russia Destroys 808 Ukrainian Drones After Steve Witkoff Visit, Kiev Reports Seven Dead
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Putin agreed to resume US-mediated trilateral peace talks with Ukraine, targeting mid-November. US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg to push restart of negotiations.
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Drones, strikes, and talks
Moscow and Kiev exchanged missile and drone fire overnight Thursday into Friday, leaving seven dead on the Ukrainian side, according to authorities, hours after the visit to Russia by U.S. presidential emissary Steve Witkoff. The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 808 Ukrainian drones over a “vingtaine de régions russes et la Crimée annexée,” and Moscow’s mayor Sergueï Sobianine said 630 drones were launched toward the Moscow region, with two people wounded. In Kiev, Vitali Klitschko said bombardments left at least 15 people injured and that part of the metro infrastructure on the Pivdenny bridge was damaged.
Steve Witkoff had met Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo earlier in the week, and the Kremlin said it was “en principe” open to trilateral negotiations after the meeting in Saint-Petersbourg. Donald Trump said after meeting Witkoff’s Wednesday talks that “C’est le plus près que nous ayons jamais été” of ending the war.
Optimism meets hard demands
JD Vance said the United States is working to restart negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, and he argued that “they've just been too apart on some of the details of these negotiations.” Steve Witkoff told Vladimir Putin, “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again,” after Russia released an American detained in Russia since 2022 as a goodwill gesture.
Yuri Oushakov said the Kremlin was ready to resume three-way negotiations with Kyiv and Washington, but not immediately, “around November 10.” The Kremlin aide also said the proposals put forward by Kyiv and Europeans in Oslo “didn't amount to much,” while La Presse reported that Zelensky said he was “in favor” of a meeting but “as soon as possible.”
Next steps and what’s at risk
The Kremlin said trilateral talks could resume around November 10 and could be held in Abu Dhabi, with the focus on security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine after the war ends. Yuri Ushakov said the meeting with Witkoff lasted nearly three hours and that the proposed negotiations would be held at a technical level, while the last U.S.-mediated peace talks took place in February.
“Ending the war, advancing peace, and, as I understand it, preparing for summit-level talks.”
Volodymyr Zelensky said the agenda was clear, and he stated, “Ending the war, advancing peace, and, as I understand it, preparing for summit-level talks.” The Kremlin’s position remained tied to demands including full Russian control of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, and the sources also described a push to end the war before “a very bad thing.”