The diplomatic push accompanied the resumption of US early warning alerts for incoming Russian ballistic missiles, which Zelensky confirmed were working again as air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv for a fresh missile threat. While thanking Washington for underlining that security guarantees must be strong, Zelensky insisted that Kyiv be included in any future negotiations over its fate. Earlier on October 20, presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov noted that Starlink and Starshield restrictions remained in place and that missile warnings were arriving as little as a minute before impact.
The talks in Norway followed days of friction over missing US alerts during recent Russian barrages, which Rubio attributed for an earlier strike to a software problem in Ukraine's early warning system under review by US European Command. Before the system was restored, an overnight Russian assault on October 18 to 19 featuring 16 ballistic missiles and more than 200 drones struck Kyiv and 10 other regions without partner warnings for the initial wave, damaging 28 substations and over 10 energy facilities and cutting power to at least 550,000 households.