Ukraine war: Putin proposes trilateral summit, Zelensky meets US envoys

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding a trilateral summit with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. According to The Wall Street Journal, the proposal came up during a phone call with Trump on October 9.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that discussions were underway but said no date or agenda had been fixed. The Kremlin has suggested holding the meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on November 18 and 19, but Trump has not yet formally agreed.

Concerns have grown that Ukraine and its European allies might not take part in the proposed meeting. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has held talks with Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Trump, for his part, has accused Zelensky of being unwilling to end the war.

Relations between Washington and Kyiv have strained after the US held back new sanctions on Russia and reached a diesel-related agreement with Moscow. Even so, Zelensky expressed gratitude after the US resumed intelligence-sharing that it had paused for some time.

Tens of thousands of people across several regions of Ukraine have been left without electricity because of Russian attacks. In response, Ukraine says it carried out its largest-ever drone attack on St. Petersburg, setting fire to an oil refinery and other facilities.