Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly proposed a three-way summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The reported proposal excludes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the negotiations.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Putin mentioned the idea during a phone call with Trump on Oct. 9, citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter. The report suggests the meeting could take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in Shenzhen, China. The same call reportedly resulted in an agreement for Moscow to sell diesel on the global market.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the possibility of a meeting on Monday, stating that while he did not know if it had been finalized, President Trump was open to any action that could help end the war. Rubio made these remarks during a visit to Uzbekistan.
The potential summit comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Kyiv. Over the past week, moves by the Trump administration have raised questions about U.S. reliability as Ukraine's primary military partner, prompting alarm among European allies and criticism from some Republicans. Trump defended his decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports and an Oct. 18 executive order waiving new Russia sanctions from a bill introduced by the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
Zelenskyy criticized the easing of sanctions, arguing on social media that blocking the measures seemed wrong and that Washington's actions risked prolonging the conflict. He stated that Russia was not taking reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief, using opportunities to profit from the war instead.
Military hostilities continued during this period. Zelenskyy said Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region, along with more than 200 drones across the country. He reported that the strikes damaged more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities, leaving at least 550,000 households without power. Casualties were reported, and a medical clinic, school, metro station, and residential buildings were damaged. Zelenskyy said Ukraine received no advance warning from its partners about the attacks.
These strikes followed an "energy ceasefire" announced by Trump on Oct. 11. Ukraine had paused its attacks for three days but resumed them last Thursday. Over the weekend, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones into Russia, setting fires at an oil export terminal and refinery in St. Petersburg, while Moscow continued its missile bombardment of Kyiv.
Disputes also emerged over satellite internet services. Kyiv accused Washington of ordering restrictions on Starshield networks, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink used to control forces and defend against strikes. Trump denied that the White House ordered these restrictions. However, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two U.S. officials, that the call to restrict Starlink came from the White House without specifying who made the order.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on X that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. The restrictions reportedly caused platforms traveling above 160 kilometers per hour, such as interceptor drones, to lose connectivity. Ukrainian media reported that Zelenskyy called the restrictions a "planned operation" after testing connectivity in EU countries found no such limits there.