E-Paper
Ukraine's Zelenskyy discusses war efforts with Trump envoys ahead of trilateral talks with Russia
Ukraine and its European allies discussed funding for the war and the country's recovery with US officials ahead of planned talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi.
Prefer HTon Google
Ukraine and its European allies discussed the country’s economic recovery and funding requirements for its war effort during talks with US officials, hours after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party suffered a drubbing in the midterm elections.
The Wednesday meeting in Brussels kicked off a round of consultations ahead of two days of US-led talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi starting on Nov. 10. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he separately had a “very detailed” call with White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
“The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps. Our proposals are clear, and we have given them to the American side.”
Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service who led the country’s delegation in the talks, said in a social media post that officials discussed a so-called prosperity plan that “will define how we rebuild Ukraine after the war, attract investment, and create opportunities for our economy to grow.”
Also read: Trilateral talks among US, Russia and Ukraine to take place in Abu Dhabi after midterms: US official
Umerov also said Ukraine “presented our calculations for next year’s war effort: how much funding is needed, what deficit we need to cover, and which sources could provide it.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how the US midterm vote results are going to impact Trump’s efforts to end the war — now well into its fifth year — after his earlier attempts to broker peace failed.
Ahead of the vote, Trump courted Moscow with a controversial diesel deal and a sanctions waiver, in an effort to lower energy prices pushed up by the war in Iran.
Trump and Zelenskyy also had a public feud, with the Ukrainian leader blaming the US for a slowdown in SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet speeds that made it more difficult to intercept Russian projectiles. He also said there had been delays in shipments of Patriot air defense interceptors.
In his post on Wednesday, Zelenskyy stressed the need for more Patriots, but also added that “Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its support for Ukraine’s independence, our people, and diplomatic efforts.”
The meeting in Brussels included delegations from the US, Ukraine, Germany, France and the UK, as well as from NATO and the World Bank, it said. Kushner took part online, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The work today and going forward is focused on refining the scenarios for Ukraine’s post-war economic development and prosperity,” the European Commission said in a statement on its website Wednesday. “This includes identifying instruments and tools that can support Ukraine’s future development and own efforts.”
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he’ll push for an energy truce, grain-export security and prisoner swaps as part of the US-led talks.
Russia has stuck to its maximalist demands to end its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including that Kyiv cede territories in the eastern Donbas region that Moscow has failed to take by force for more than a decade.
Russia suffered record military casualties in Ukraine last month while Ukraine also regained some areas, according to Western intelligence data and Zelenskyy.
With progress stalling on the frontline, Moscow has been increasingly targeting civilians in escalating air strikes. An attack on a humanitarian aid center on Monday in southern Ukraine killed at least 40 people, while more than 30 are still missing, Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
The World Bank estimated in February the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine was almost $588 billion. Since then, Russia’s relentless attacks, targeting everything from power plants to retail stores, have only increased the damage.
The strikes will probably push the Ukrainian economy into contraction this year for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, the central bank said last week.
Zelenskyy reiterated that he must meet Putin in person to end the war, dismissing the idea of a phone call with the Russian leader as something that would amount to little more than a lecture on history.
