U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the dispute over Donbas is central to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, while Kyiv described a possible November team meeting with Moscow and Washington.
India Today published an interview with Rubio on Oct. 24. He said Russia wants territory in Donbas that it has not captured militarily, and that Ukraine has sovereignty and long-term security reasons to resist giving it up. “It’s about one region of the country,” Rubio said.
Rubio said both sides would need to make concessions and that diplomacy would end the war. He described Donbas as a central difficulty, not the only issue in a settlement, and linked Ukraine’s position to its sovereignty and long-term security concerns.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an Oct. 23 address that Ukraine, the United States and Russia had agreed to hold team-level talks in the first half of November 2026. “The plan is to meet in the first half of November,” he said, adding that the plan depended on Russia’s participation.
Zelenskyy called for technical discussions to lead to a meeting of leaders and said Europe should be included. His statement did not name a specific day or venue.
TASS reported that Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume trilateral negotiations around Nov. 10. The outlet said Ushakov identified a security system for Russia and Ukraine as the main subject. That account offers an approximate date, while describing Russia’s readiness to resume talks rather than confirming a finalized meeting.
The two accounts point to territorial and security issues in the diplomatic process: Rubio emphasized Donbas, while the TASS report described a broader security agenda. The next stated window for team-level talks is the first half of November, subject to Russia’s participation.
