Putin reportedly suggested a summit with Trump and Xi to negotiate Ukraine's fate, according to the Wall Street Journal citing a former Russian intelligence officer. The meeting was mentioned during an October 9 phone call between Putin and Trump. If it occurs, the summit would exclude Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and may take place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in Shenzhen, China. The call also produced a deal for Moscow to sell diesel oil on the global market.
The proposal comes as the Trump administration has taken steps that alarm Ukraine and European allies. Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports and issued an October 18 executive order waiving new Russia sanctions from legislation introduced by the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Trump defended the decision by saying he did not want to "drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."
Zelenskyy objected in a post on X, calling the decision "wrong." Trump countered on Truth Social by accusing Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war. The Institute for the Study of War stated that Trump's October 16 executive order "will only enable Russia to continue financing and protracting the war in Ukraine without any proper incentives that may force Russia to engage in any meaningful peace negotiations."
Zelenskyy told Bloomberg that "steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate" and expressed concern that American partners may believe "the war could be ended sooner at Ukraine's expense." He also accused Washington of restricting Ukraine's Starshield networks, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink used for military operations. Trump denied the White House ordered restrictions. Reuters reported on Thursday that the call came from the White House but did not specify who issued the order. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pinned responsibility on the U.S. government, stating that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government." The Telegraph reported Friday that Musk approached Trump with the idea of slowing Starlink in Ukraine.