Zelensky Ready to Meet Putin at Miami G20 if Russian Leader Attends

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he is prepared to hold a direct, bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the US if the Russian leader attends the Group of 20 (G20) summit in December. Speaking in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Zelensky confirmed that he would travel to Miami, Florida, to participate in the gathering if Putin is also present.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Yes, of course. We must come. We must meet, talk, and make decisions,” Zelensky said. The president emphasized that any potential face-to-face engagement with Putin must prioritize tangible diplomatic outcomes over rhetoric or symbolic exchanges. “It is not about words. What I tell him, or what he wants to tell me – that does not matter. What matters are results,” Zelensky stated. The prospective engagement would mark the first direct encounter between Zelensky and Putin since December 2019, when the two leaders met in Paris alongside the heads of state of France and Germany under the Normandy Four negotiating format. Zelensky revealed Ukraine’s need for Patriot missiles for the winter Zelensky also spoke about Ukraine’s need for Patriot interceptor missiles ahead of winter. The Ukrainian leader noted that Russia is currently producing 140 ballistic missiles per month, whereas, according to NATO standards, a 1-to-2 ratio is required to destroy them – that is, 280 interceptor missiles. Zelensky emphasized that it is impossible to obtain such a large number of missiles, adding that for Ukraine, receiving even 100 interceptor missiles per month is a “huge challenge.” Other Topics of Interest Zelensky Warns of Reciprocal Strikes if Russia Targets Power Grid President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine will retaliate in kind if Russia strikes its power grid, proposing a mutual “energy truce.” “I want to have 100-120 (interceptor missiles – ed.) for these difficult months, especially the cold months. We’ll see how many months this winter lasts – that is, these cold months: one, two, three. We don’t know. This is truly a major challenge,” Zelensky said. The president noted that Ukraine could receive missiles from U.S. reserves or production, as well as through an aid package from Europe. He added that he is discussing supplies with countries in the Middle East. Zelensky called on European countries to provide Ukraine with maximum support, also mentioning the pan-European anti-ballistic system FREYJA. He said that as part of this project, the goal is to receive the first such system for testing by the end of December, after which production will begin. “This is a major experiment, but it’s a realistic one,” the President said. Kremlin signals on summits and trilateral formats Zelensky’s comments arrive amid intensifying discussions regarding potential high-level multilateral summit diplomacy later this autumn. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated earlier this week that a separate trilateral summit between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping could take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Shenzhen, China. According to Russian state news agency TASS, the proposal was raised during a phone call between Putin and Trump on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Concurrently, Moscow has indicated potential openness to reviving direct negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Peskov stated that Moscow expects trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia to resume in the “foreseeable future,” noting ongoing dialogue with the Trump administration to establish a workable format. “There is a shared initiative and a shared political will – which has been confirmed – to resume trilateral negotiations,” Peskov said, while cautioning that formalized roadmaps or integrated agendas have not yet been finalized. Direct trilateral peace negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the US have remained suspended since February 2026. The last formal sessions took place on Feb. 17–18 in Geneva, Switzerland, following an initial round held on Feb. 4-5 in Abu Dhabi. While technical contacts regarding prisoner of war exchanges have persisted, broader political negotiations stalled through the spring and summer amid renewed frontline combat and extensive infrastructure strikes. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.