Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he could travel to Miami to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin if the United States invited Putin to the 2026 G20 Summit.
In an interview Friday at Canadian Forces Base North Bay in Canada, Zelenskyy said a possible meeting should not be limited to talks. He said it was important for the sides to meet and make decisions, adding that the focus should be on the outcome of the meeting rather than its format.
Peskov says Putin could come to Moscow
Responding to Zelenskyy’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president could have previously flown to Moscow if the Ukrainian leader genuinely wanted to meet Putin.
Zelenskyy and Putin met face to face at a Normandy-format summit held in Paris, the capital of France, in December 2019. That meeting was the first and only face-to-face meeting between the two leaders to date.
2026 G20 Summit to be held in Miami
The 2026 meeting of the G20 Summit, which brings together the leaders of developed and developing economies to discuss global issues, is planned to take place on December 14-15 in Miami, Florida.
Putin attended the 2019 G20 Summit in person. The Russian president took part in the summits held in 2020 and 2021 via video conference.
Ukraine seeking missiles for the winter
In the interview, Zelenskyy also said Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defense capabilities ahead of the coming winter. He said Kyiv was trying to acquire between 100 and 120 missiles per month.
Zelenskyy claimed that Russia produces 140 ballistic missiles per month and argued that, under NATO standards, 280 interceptor missiles would be needed to stop that number at a two-to-one ratio.
Zelenskyy said it would not be possible to secure 280 missiles per month and that even 100 missiles would pose a major challenge. He said the missiles needed could be supplied from U.S. stockpiles or production capacity, adding that Ukraine was also holding talks on possible supply options in the Middle East but did not disclose which countries it had contacted.
FREYJA aims to begin testing by the end of December
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine aimed to receive the first prototype of FREYJA, a Europe-wide ballistic missile defense project launched earlier this year, and test it by the end of December.
Under the plan outlined by Zelenskyy, the FREYJA project is expected to move into the production phase after the prototype is tested.
