Ukraine war talks advance as Kremlin and White House signal progress

On October 21, Kremlin and White House officials signaled progress toward a swift end to the war in Ukraine, with President Zelensky expressing readiness to freeze the conflict along the current front line. A trilateral Ukraine-US-Russia meeting is planned for November in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a Fox News interview that freezing the war is a realistic way to end it, calling it a minimum requirement from Russia and requesting security guarantees from the US and Europe. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed talks on ending the conflict, following a three-hour Putin-Witkoff meeting in St. Petersburg. Separately, searches were conducted at the National Bank of Ukraine and the office of its governor, Andriy Pyshny, though no one was detained. Russia also launched a massive overnight ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, damaging three universities, while Ukrainian intelligence reported Russia has stockpiled up to 700 ballistic missiles.