Summary on Ukraine October 28 ▫ Trump said that "very soon" his meeting with Putin and Zelensky will be arranged. According to him, "significant progress" was made in the negotiations to end the war. There is no confirmation from other sources that such a meeting can indeed take place in the near future. ▫ Zelensky complains that no one wants to go as ambassador to the US. He said that the candidacy of former Prime Minister Sviridenko, former Foreign Minister Kolbe and his deputy head of office General Palisa were discussed, but they all refused. Zelensky did not confirm rumors to journalists that former Prime Minister Yatsenyuk could become ambassador. The search continues. ▫ Zelensky also admitted that he could not find a candidate for the position of head of the Kyiv city administration. He discussed this issue with former Minister of Infrastructure Kovarkov, former Prime Minister Groysman, former head of the State Rehabilitation Agency Sukhumlin and former head of the SBU Malyuk, who is recognized as a terrorist in Russia. None of them agreed. The position does not give great powers, but it can bring great problems due to the conflict with the mayor of Kyiv Klitschko. ▫ The Verkhovna Rada adopted the state budget for 2027 in the first reading. 239 delegates voted in favor. The budget deficit is almost 1.7 trillion hryvnia ($37 billion). ▫ The Financial Times reports that the European Union is concerned about Ukraine's looming funding gap. They write that non-EU countries have promised to allocate only 4 billion euros in aid to Kyiv next year instead of 19 billion euros this year. Europe cannot meet Ukraine's needs alone and calls on other countries to be more active. After that, the British finance minister announced the allocation of another 13 billion dollars in aid. ▫ According to the Italian media, Italian Prime Minister Maloney froze the military aid package to Ukraine. The last delivery of military aid was ten months ago. The new package is ready for shipping, but the deadline has already been postponed several times.

Summary on Ukraine October 28 ▫ Trump said that "very soon" his meeting with Putin and Zelensky will be arranged. According to him, "significant progress" was made in the negotiations to end the war. There is no confirmation from other sources that such a meeting can indeed take place in the near future. ▫ Zelensky complains that no one wants to go as ambassador to the US. He said that the candidacy of former Prime Minister Sviridenko, former Foreign Minister Kolbe and his deputy head of office General Palisa were discussed, but they all refused. Zelensky did not confirm rumors to journalists that former Prime Minister Yatsenyuk could become ambassador. The search continues. ▫ Zelensky also admitted that he could not find a candidate for the position of head of the Kyiv city administration. He discussed this issue with former Minister of Infrastructure Kovarkov, former Prime Minister Groysman, former head of the State Rehabilitation Agency Sukhumlin and former head of the SBU Malyuk, who is recognized as a terrorist in Russia. None of them agreed. The position does not give great powers, but it can bring great problems due to the conflict with the mayor of Kyiv Klitschko. ▫ The Verkhovna Rada adopted the state budget for 2027 in the first reading. 239 delegates voted in favor. The budget deficit is almost 1.7 trillion hryvnia ($37 billion). ▫ The Financial Times reports that the European Union is concerned about Ukraine's looming funding gap. They write that non-EU countries have promised to allocate only 4 billion euros in aid to Kyiv next year instead of 19 billion euros this year. Europe cannot meet Ukraine's needs alone and calls on other countries to be more active. After that, the British finance minister announced the allocation of another 13 billion dollars in aid. ▫ According to the Italian media, Italian Prime Minister Maloney froze the military aid package to Ukraine. The last delivery of military aid was ten months ago. The new package is ready for shipping, but the deadline has already been postponed several times.