When a Deutsche Welle correspondent asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday whether he would fly to Miami for December's G20 summit if Vladimir Putin also attended, the Ukrainian president did not hesitate. "Yes, of course. We have to come. We have to meet, to speak and make decisions," he replied.

The two men have not been in the same room since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the prospect of a face-to-face encounter — however unlikely — has immediately drawn international attention. Zelenskyy was careful, however, to lower expectations about what such a meeting might produce. He argued that the words exchanged between the two leaders would matter far less than any concrete outcome. The Kremlin has not yet confirmed whether Putin would attend the Florida summit; the Russian president has not appeared in person at a G20 gathering since 2019.

Meanwhile, Washington's decision last month to invite Russia's Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, to a G20 finance meeting in North Carolina caused visible irritation among European allies, suggesting that Western unity on how to engage Moscow remains fragile. The interview also laid bare a more immediate concern: Ukraine's deepening shortage of air-defence ammunition heading into winter. Zelenskyy disclosed that Russia is currently producing approximately 140 ballistic missiles every month, and that NATO doctrine would require twice that number — around 280 interceptors — to neutralise each salvo. Ukraine, he acknowledged, has little hope of receiving even 100 Patriot missiles per month, a figure he described as his minimum target for the coldest and most dangerous months ahead.