Ukraine war: Putin proposes meeting with Trump and Xi

In St. Petersburg, Russian President Putin discusses the war in Ukraine with US mediator Witkoff. At the start of the talks, Putin suggested a three-way meeting with Trump and Xi in China - and...

US mediator Witkoff in St. Petersburg Putin proposes meeting with Trump and Xi As of: October 21, 2026 • 1:55 p.m

In St. Petersburg, Russian President Putin discusses the war in Ukraine with US mediator Witkoff. At the start of the talks, Putin proposed a three-way meeting with Trump and Xi in China - and announced the first diesel deliveries to the USA.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought a joint meeting with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping into play. The Kremlin chief made the suggestion after he received US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Putin did not give a specific date. The Kremlin itself also said there was no agenda for such a meeting. One possibility would be a meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.

Even before Putin's official proposal, Ukraine had reacted to reports of the possible three-way meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged that Ukraine also take part in such a meeting. There should be no talks about Ukraine without Ukraine.

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Before the start of consultations with Trump's special envoy Witkoff, Putin thanked the US President for his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. And he announced that the American Stephen Hubbard would be released. Hubbard was sentenced to long prison in 2024 because he is said to have fought as a mercenary alongside the Ukrainian armed forces.

Witkoff was optimistic before the talks began. He hopes for concrete steps towards a peace process. There is a basis for a ceasefire. The special envoy also expressed the hope that Putin would agree to joint negotiations on a possible end to the war, in which Ukraine, alongside Russia and the USA, would also be directly involved. Until now, Russia had always rejected this.

Today's meeting is based on discussions that took place on Tuesday in the Norwegian capital Oslo. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj as well as representatives from NATO and the EU were involved. Key points included security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial issues, sanctions and European security after the war.

The Kremlin announced that it would examine the new proposals. Progress in the effort to resolve the "Ukraine conflict" is "theoretically possible," the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian presidential office as saying. However, a lot depends on Ukraine. If Kiev does not make the necessary decisions, the situation for the country will worsen.

"Rally-around-the-flag effect", Vassili Golod, ARD Kiev, on the summit between Trump, Xi and Putin Morning magazine, Das Erste, October 21, 2026 • 8:00 a.m. Putin announces first diesel delivery to the USA In addition to his thanks to Trump, Putin also emphasized in St. Petersburg his country's interest in expanding economic cooperation with the USA again. The US President himself provided support for this hope. A few days ago, Trump announced that he would suspend a recently passed sanctions package against Russia - out of "national interest." A few days earlier, Trump had announced that Russia would supply the USA with hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel.

Russia plans to send the first 40,000 tons of diesel on its way by tanker tomorrow, Thursday, as Putin announced at the meeting with Witkoff. He also raised the possibility that Russia could also provide the USA with large quantities of fertilizer. Since the start of the Iran War and the associated blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, fertilizer has become a scarce commodity in the United States.

The diesel agreement and the USA's move away from sanctions on Russia were met with sharp criticism in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky accused the USA of accepting that Russia would continue its war unhindered. Selenskyj had repeatedly complained about the lack of deliveries of armaments. Above all, the country's own military lacks defensive missiles. Recently, Ukraine also complained about a throttling of the satellite communication services Starlink and Starshield, which play an important role in the coordination of the Ukrainian army, the use of drones and their defense.

The increasing tensions between the actual allies had recently been fueled by Trump's repeated statements. Shortly after the talks in Oslo, Trump again claimed that Russia was ready to end the war. Zelensky must agree to a “deal” to put an end to the war. Trump also claimed that the US had “given a lot” to Ukraine but “got absolutely nothing in return.”

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Despite ongoing mediation efforts to end the war, the Russian military attacked several regions in Ukraine during the night. Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyj said on Telegram that at least four people were killed in the attacks. Two people died when a drone hit a multi-story building in the capital Kiev, and two more in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Korezkyj said Russia had "continuously" attacked energy facilities, railway facilities, shopping centers and residential buildings since Tuesday evening. The regions of Kyiv, Volhynia, Odessa and Mykolaiv were affected. According to Ukrainian authorities, further attacks targeted a university in Kremenchuk in the Poltava region. At least two people were injured there.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks on Poltava and Kiev, Reuters news agency reported. A drone warehouse was attacked in Poltava, and a substation in Kiev that supplies the Ukrainian defense and industrial sectors as well as logistics centers with electricity.

The Russian side again reported drone attacks on the Leningrad region. This was announced by regional governor Alexander Drozdenko. The region in northwestern Russia surrounds the city of St. Petersburg, where the meeting between Putin and Witkoff is scheduled to take place. The Bryansk region was also the target of drone attacks, according to the regional governor there, Yegor Kovalchuk. He spoke on Telegram of at least one death and two injuries.