Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine.

He leads Ukraine through Russia's invasion. In September 2026 he met Trump's envoys Witkoff and Kushner in Kyiv, straight after their talks with Putin in Moscow, with no breakthrough.

He reports the toll of Russian strikes (17 killed in Kyiv in one August attack, seven dead across Ukraine on October 1), lines up weapons aid (over €1.3 billion from Germany in October) and answers US offers of talks.

He is the other side of the table in the Putin–Witkoff–Kushner talks. Russian strikes in September hit Kyiv's phone-company data centres.

Aug 19, 2026 — A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv on Wednesday night killed at least 17 people and hit blocks of flats and warehouses, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service and the BBC. A children's hospital and a school were damaged. ABC quoted Zelenskyy saying at least 15 were killed and more than 40 injured. (bbc.co.uk ; abcnews.com)
Sept 2, 2026 — Shots were fired in Kyiv between two Ukrainian spy services: HUR officers arrived while the SBU was searching an apartment, and three HUR officers were injured, the Guardian reported, citing local media. Zelenskyy called it "an absolutely disgraceful situation." (theguardian.com ; aljazeera.com)
Sept 6, 2026 — US envoys Witkoff and Kushner made their first visit to Kyiv and met Zelenskyy, with no major breakthrough. They came from Moscow, where three hours of talks with Putin on Saturday did not appear to secure a breakthrough, CNBC reported (Reuters copy). (fortune.com ; bbc.com ; cnn.com ; dw.com ; cnbc.com ; france24.com)
Sept 20, 2026 — Moscow Mayor Sobyanin said over 1,600 drones were shot down, 450 of them heading for the capital. At least three people were killed and a major refinery was damaged on the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections, Al Jazeera reported. Zelensky said Flamingo and Pelican missiles were also used. (aljazeera.com ; unionesarda.it)
Sept 23, 2026 — Zelensky told the UN: "We know that Russia uses citizens of 47 countries in its war." (france24.com)
Sept 27, 2026 — Kyivstar said its Kyiv head office was hit, with no casualties, and Russia said it hit a Vodafone Ukraine data centre on Sunday. Zelenskiy said a Kyiv data centre was struck twice, wounding two children and an adult. Earlier strikes caused outages to about 100,000 households, Reuters reported. (tbsnews.net)
Oct 1, 2026 — Ukraine's air force said it shot down 254 of 285 Russian drones by early evening. Zelensky said seven people were killed across Ukraine, a child among them. (france24.com)
Oct 4, 2026 — During Merz's visit to Kyiv on Sunday, Germany agreed aid worth over €1.3 billion, including some €1 billion for weapons like combat drones. Zelensky said the US was proposing "technical level" talks with both sides by the end of the month. (france24.com)

• in the news with
  Steve Witkoff (US Envoy to Middle East, 2025+)
  2026-09-06 — Witkoff and Kushner first visited Kyiv, meeting Zelenskyy; no major breakthrough. CNBC (Reuters copy): they came from Moscow, where three hours of
• in the news with
  Jared Kushner
  2026-09-06 — Witkoff and Kushner first visited Kyiv, meeting Zelenskyy; no major breakthrough. CNBC (Reuters copy): they came from Moscow, where three hours of
• in the news with
  Vladimir Putin
  2026-09-06 — Witkoff and Kushner first visited Kyiv, meeting Zelenskyy; no major breakthrough. CNBC (Reuters copy): they came from Moscow, where three hours of
• in the news with
  Russia
  ~2026-08-19 (Wednesday night; BBC published 08-20) — Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 17, striking blocks of flats and warehouses (State
• cross-reference
  Sandworm / GRU Unit 74455
  2026-09-27 — Kyivstar: Kyiv head office hit, no casualties; Russia: hit Vodafone Ukraine data centre (Sunday); Zelenskiy: Kyiv data centre struck twice, woundin
• cross-reference
  Feb 2022: Ukraine Invasion
  ABC quotes Zelenskyy: at least 15 killed, 40+ injured.
• cross-reference
  Berel Lazar
  During Ukraine war, Abramovich used Chabad network channels as direct intermediary between Putin and Zelensky.