Zelenskyy says discussing new talks with Witkoff, Kushner

Daryna Krasnolutska, Volodymyr Verbianyi and Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg News on Oct 18, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s holding talks Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys with a view to arranging a new rounds of peace meetings as early as this week.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, the Ukrainian leader said he would use a video call with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to discuss a possible venue and time for the meeting. The U.S. envoys also plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said.

If the meetings take place, they will be similar to a previous round of talks that Kusher and Witkoff held in early September. Back then, they first went to Moscow for talks with Putin before following up with their first visit to Kyiv for negotiations with Zelenskyy.

“We all need to meet. They understand and we understand that,” the Ukrainian leader said. “They want to meet us, want to meet with Putin.”

Zelenskyy said after the previous meeting “things looked positive” before Trump announced a deal with Putin to allow diesel sales to the U.S. and global markets in a bid to ease fuel prices. On Friday, the U.S. president followed up on the agreement with an executive order waiving new tariffs and sanctions on Russia.

Some Republican lawmakers criticized Donald Trump for that, while House Speaker Mike Johnson said in comments to Fox News on Sunday he’d told the White House they should talk about the waiver. He cautioned about “unintended consequences that may ensue,” adding “I think the right decision will be made here in the end.”

Zelenskyy earlier Sunday in an interview with NBC said he hoped Trump would change his decisions and attitude to Putin.

_____