Zelensky ties Ukraine peace offer at G20 to U.S. leverage over Russia and key weapons
Volodymyr Zelensky says the United States can push Russia to end the war and that Ukraine is counting on U.S. mediation, even as he offers to hold peace talks at the G20 and notes that European missile transfers still require American approval.
Volodymyr Zelensky is framing Ukraine’s path to peace as dependent on decisions in Washington while signaling readiness to take the discussion to the G20.
He has said Ukraine is ready for peace talks at the G20 summit but has not yet received an invitation. In separate remarks reported in Ukrainian media, Zelensky stated that the United States can force Russia to end the war. According to those accounts, he said Ukraine is relying on U.S. mediation to stop active hostilities first and then move to talks on peace terms, guarantees and other issues. Ukrainian reporting also says Ukraine would be prepared to hold a relevant meeting during the G20 summit if Donald Trump invites it, but that no such invitations have been received so far.
On weapons, Zelensky has underlined how much depends on the U.S. position. He said he has agreements with European partners, but that Europeans can only transfer certain missiles when the American side approves it. That comment points to export‑control and policy constraints that limit how far European capitals can go without Washington’s sign‑off.
These diplomatic moves play out against ongoing attacks. On 22 October, Kyiv and several regions were placed under a red level of alert because of a missile threat, according to Ukrainian alerts. Under that pressure, delays in decisions about long‑range weapons or air defenses have a daily impact on civilians and frontline units.
Other leaders are questioning how heavily any settlement should be shaped by the U.S. Czech President Petr Pavel told the Berlin Global Dialogue conference in Berlin on 22 October that Europe should represent its own interests in negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. He argued that American allies do not necessarily represent European interests in the best way, and called on European countries to engage more actively in talks about ending the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to add support from individual European states. Zelensky said there is a new support package from Finland that includes energy equipment and locomotives, along with seven agreements with a total value of €300 million. He said Ukraine and Finland agreed that Ukraine will make greater use of Finnish satellite capabilities, specifically from Nokia and ICEYE.
In the U.S., political figures are describing diplomacy in their own terms. Senator JD Vance has said that in talks on the Ukraine war, sometimes Ukrainians are more intransigent and sometimes Russians are, and that the job of diplomacy is to engage and try to solve problems. He has also defended a U.S. deal on Russian diesel, saying that Russia has always been able to sell its diesel fuel, just at a substantial discount because of sanctions.
One of Kyiv’s more immediate practical concerns is satellite connectivity. Zelensky said Ukraine is awaiting a response from Senator Marco Rubio about the possibility of restoring Starlink satellite connectivity at speeds of up to 400 km/h. At the same time, reports from The Economist’s Oliver Carroll and Ukrainian channels say Starlink speed restrictions on Ukrainian terminals have likely or probably been lifted, based on frontline commanders’ accounts, though there has been no formal confirmation.
The next signals to watch are whether Ukraine receives a G20 invitation that includes space for peace talks, if the U.S. shifts its stance on European missile transfers, how Washington answers Zelensky’s and Rubio’s Starlink discussions, and whether European states organize their own diplomatic initiative in line with Pavel’s call for more direct European involvement.
Sources
- OSINT