Italy presses EU to name Ukraine negotiator as Kyiv seeks wider security deal

Italy wants one EU negotiator

Italy's government on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, asked for the European Union to name a joint representative as quickly as possible for talks on the war in Ukraine, according to government sources cited by ANSA and EFE. Those sources were bothered that Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store phoned Vladimir Putin in the name of their own countries rather than Europe. They argued that without an agreed European voice each nation acts alone, and warned that shifting formats risk a gradual loss of influence over the negotiations. The Daily Telegraph, citing diplomatic sources, has placed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on a shortlist of five candidates for the role, alongside Stubb, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Store.

Kyiv tries to widen the agenda

Kyiv is trying to move negotiations past the dispute over occupied territory toward a broader agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe. A resumed trilateral round with the United States and Russia could be a first step, but prospects remain unclear while Moscow keeps demanding that Ukrainian troops leave Donbas. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the previous round in the first half of 2026 centred on a demilitarised zone in Donbas informally called 'Donnyland'. Talks collapsed over which flag would fly at the zone's access point, the official said, with Putin insisting on the Russian one and Ukraine answering that it would be better not to.

Humanitarian truce in Oleshky

A temporary ceasefire took effect in Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation, to allow a humanitarian mission, Ukrainian and Russian officials announced. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, called the operation an important humanitarian mission and said the Ukrainian population in the city must be evacuated safely. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets travelled to the site and is coordinating the work. David Arakhamia, Ukraine's chief negotiator, posted on Telegram that the armistice runs five days, until 1 November at 22:59, and called it the largest easing of tensions since 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ceasefire took effect at 4:00 Moscow time and that no violations had been observed by the time of his statement, while the announcements gave no figures on people to be evacuated or helped.

Energy truce, Starlink and Patriot demands

Zelensky said Ukraine would stop striking Russian refineries at the request of the US negotiators, provided one of three conditions is met. The first is an energy truce in which Russia stops hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the second is activating Starlink coverage over Russia in exchange for locations of Russian ballistic missile launchers, and the third is Patriot missiles for Ukraine. Starlink service had resumed at 5:20 a.m. Kyiv time on Saturday, 24 October, and Zelensky said intelligence sharing and Starlink issues were solved, leaving the air-defence shortage unresolved. He said none of the three conditions has been met, which is why strikes continue, and he warned against lifting sanctions before peace talks. He argued that Russia supplies only 2% of global diesel exports, so strikes on its refineries could not significantly move world prices.

Russia2%

Other exporters98%

Russia

2 %

Other exporters

98 %

Data from the article text

Air defence and winter aid

Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara said Ukraine has asked the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland for 10% of their interceptor missile stocks for Patriot and IRIS-T systems. His proposed swap would see partners hand over part of their current stocks now, in return for contracted deliveries that arrive later, and Ukraine also needs more portable air-defence systems (MANPADS). Khmara added that Ukraine could double drone production by 2027 if funding arrives in time. After a meeting in Paris with the defence ministers of Britain, France, Italy and Poland, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said winter aid packages were already prepared, and Zelensky said Russia is preparing to step up attacks on large cities. Senior Ukrainian officials told The Economist that Moscow wants to paralyse Kyiv before the cold sets in.