Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 18 that the war with Russia "must be ended" and that Ukraine is preparing "next steps" on the diplomatic front aimed at bringing the conflict to a close.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he had held "an exchange with President Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner." The Ukrainian leader said "much depends" on the U.S. position, but that there are clearly "many important issues for all of us."
The remarks come as diplomatic relations between Kyiv and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump have been buffeted. Trump earlier waived planned sanctions targeting Russia's energy economy and has described recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure as "a disgrace."
Despite those tensions, Zelenskyy said his team is in "almost constant" contact with the U.S. side, with talks focused on the outcome of negotiations in Florida and on the next steps.
U.S. hesitates over Ukraine's access to technology
The same day, Zelenskyy expressed "gratitude" that the U.S. had resumed sharing intelligence with Ukraine, after a pause that left the country especially vulnerable to Russia's frequent ballistic missile attacks.
Speaking to NBC, Zelenskyy said: "This intelligence stream was blocked for a period. Then the U.S. side unblocked it." He stressed: "Only the U.S. possesses the special intelligence to notify us when Russia uses ballistic missiles. And we did not receive that information during three days of ballistic missile attacks."
Kyiv has also noted restrictions on the speed of Starshield service — the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite connectivity network that billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX provides to Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian side, the country's relay stations face limits on how fast the receiving terminal can move while maintaining a connection, making it nearly impossible to intercept Russia's upgraded long-range jet-powered drones.
Musk has said any restrictions imposed on Starshield connectivity are the responsibility of the U.S. government. The White House quickly rejected that, and in an NBC interview Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Zelenskyy "very imprudent" for accusing the U.S. of slowing the connection.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the same day that Ukraine is currently blocked from accessing Starshield, and that Kyiv's request to use the system for deep strikes into Russian territory is "being discussed."
Long-range strikes continue
Also on Oct. 18, Ukrainian media reported that Russian attacks killed two people in the western Volyn region near the Polish border and wounded at least five people across the country. Overnight Russian strikes also killed a woman and injured a six-year-old girl in the Zaporizhzhia region.
During the night of Oct. 17 and the early hours of Oct. 18, Ukraine struck Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, with a large drone attack. Targets included a refinery and a key fuel depot, a warehouse of Russian online retailer Ozon and a data center operated by Russian social media company VKontakte.
At least one person was killed in the attack, which Russian state media described as the largest on the city since the war began in 2022. Images from the scene showed thick smoke rising above an oil depot in St. Petersburg after the strike.
