Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump and Putin say they could attend China peace summit without Zelensky

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Singh, N. (2026, October 20). Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump and Putin say they could attend China peace summit without Zelensky. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-putin-zelensky-peace-diesel-deal-b3069610.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-20 · by Namita Singh

Quick Summary

Russian and American officials are exploring plans for potential peace talks involving former U.S. President Donald Trump, current Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month, without Ukrainian participation. When asked about attending such a meeting without Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump stated he would do so to end the war regardless of attendees. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are critical of this approach; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned it could empower Putin. Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Norway and Russia for upcoming negotiations on ending the conflict in Ukraine.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China. The proposed meeting aims to discuss denuclearization and potentially the war in Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be included in these discussions.

Trump confirmed he is willing to meet with Putin and Xi but emphasized that the primary focus would be on denuclearization rather than the conflict in Ukraine. Trump also criticized Zelensky, stating it was time for "somebody else" to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has acknowledged the possibility of such a meeting without confirming specific details. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the idea of peace talks excluding Kyiv, arguing that it would only strengthen Putin's position. Meanwhile, Chinese officials have stated they do not yet have concrete information about the proposed summit.

Written for “Putin Proposes Summit With Trump And Xi” on 2026-10-20, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence medium 2 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans left for article 92561 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-20

Story

📰 Putin Proposes Summit With Trump And Xi
Politics · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 2 of 35 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles describe different stages and aspects of ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding Ukraine, but they do not appear to report on the exact same specific incident.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 60
“The articles discuss different stages and aspects of diplomatic efforts related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, involving different participants and plans for peace talks.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 4 of 24 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles describe different aspects of ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, but they do not report on the exact same incident or time frame.”
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 30% hedged 3 of 10 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe a proposed summit involving Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping to discuss the Ukraine conflict without Ukrainian representation.”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 33% hedged 1 of 3 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles discuss Putin's proposal for a summit with Trump and Xi Jinping without inviting Zelenskyy, indicating they are reporting on the same specific event.”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles discuss Putin proposing a summit between Trump and Xi Jinping without Ukrainian representation to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war, indicating they are reporting on the same specific incident.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 18% hedged 2 of 11 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles discuss plans for a proposed summit involving Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping without Ukrainian representation, aiming to resolve the Ukraine-Russia war.”
Euronews
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 16 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe President Trump's willingness to meet with Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi in China without Ukrainian representation, centered on denuclearization and discussing the war in Ukraine.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 30% hedged 9 of 30 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the proposed meeting between Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping to discuss Ukraine without Ukrainian representation at the APEC forum in China.”
Reason
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 5% hedged 2 of 37 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles discuss different aspects and stages related to efforts to resolve the Ukraine-Russia conflict under President Trump but do not describe the exact same incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
58
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
4 of 58 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 2644 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Namita Singh
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “There was a deliberate act, it would appear.
🔮 Asked whether he would meet Putin and Xi without Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he would do "anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not".
🔮 Before losing her job, she had been expected to travel to China with Mr Trump next month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen.
🔮 “This Act could have helped enormously – and still can!
🔮 British troops to take part in major Ukraine-facing wargame next month British troops are set to take part in a major wargame in Poland.
🔮 During the interview, Mr Zelensky also voiced concerns over restrictions on the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink services in Ukraine, saying the move “will bring a lot of human losses”.
🔮 “Delta will review the complaint and respond accordingly in due course," it added.
🔮 South Korea says to take action if illegal Russian fuel shipments confirmed South Korea's foreign ministry said on Thursday the government would take a legal action over any illegal fuel shipments to Russia if they were confirmed, following a media report analysing port records and ship-tracking data.
🔮 "If the PRC wish to obtain leverage over the president of Taiwan during any potential conflict," FBI special agent Kevin Holt wrote in the complaint, filed on 3 October, referring to China by its formal name, People's Republic of China, “the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful.”
🔮 Confirming the investigation, an Australian Federal Police spokesperson said they would provide an update “at an appropriate time”.
Also by Namita Singh
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 20 articles by Namita Singh →

Topics

American Russia Russian Ukraine Ukrainian

Subjects

Ukraine GPE · 10× Russia GPE · 8× Russian NORP · 6× Zelensky PERSON · 6× Trump PERSON · 5× Volodymyr Zelensky PERSON · 5× Ukrainian NORP · 4× Putin PERSON · 3× Vladimir Putin PERSON · 3× American NORP · 2×

Narrative

Homeland Security grants temporary deportation reprieve for more than 100K Ukrainians and Sudanese More than 100,000 people from Ukraine and Sudan can stay in the United States without immediate risk of deportation, the Department of Homeland Security said, in what amounts to a temporary reprieve after their right to stay in the country was set to expire Monday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 Asked whether he would meet Putin and Xi without Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he would do "anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not".

Claims (58 extracted, 4 hedged)

American and Russian officials say arrangements are being made for Ukraine peace talks in China next month involving Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, but without any Ukrainian representation. asserted
arrangements → say → representation
Asked whether he would meet Putin and Xi without Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he would do "anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not". asserted
somebody → ask → war
Secretary of state Marco Rubio confirmed there had been "talk of a meeting", and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while the prospect of such a meeting had been mentioned, "no substantive proposals or agreements” have been discussed. asserted
proposals → confirm → meeting
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the idea of peace talks without Kyiv, saying it would only embolden Putin. asserted
it → criticise → Putin
Trump was also asked about Zelensky saying the president was “on the wrong side of history” with the Russia diesel deal, to which he responded: “Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about. asserted
he → ask → what
Zelensky’s a man that should have this war settled a long time ago. asserted
war → ’ → ?
“To be honest, I think it’s time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.” asserted
someone → think → Ukraine
US officials plan to travel to Norway, Russia for Ukraine talks, say sources US president Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Norway this week for the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the matter. uncertain
envoy → plan → matter
Two of the people said they expected Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the meetings. asserted
Zelensky → say → meetings
Another person familiar with the matter said Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was expected to take part in the talks, was sick and would attend virtually. asserted
who → say → talks
The Oslo discussions are expected to include Zelensky, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store, representatives of the E4 – made up of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland – the European Union, and Nato. asserted
discussions → expect → Britain
Witkoff is also set to travel to Russia to meet president Vladimir Putin, two of the people familiar with the matter said. asserted
two → set → matter
The Russian conversations are going to focus on a range of topics related to Ukraine as well as the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was jailed in Russia in 2022. asserted
who → go → 2022
Senators hold call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky Senators who organised a call with Volodymyr Zelensky said he confirmed that critical Starlink services remain degraded, impeding Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian drones. asserted
services → hold → drones
Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in a statement that Zelensky also reported disruptions to US intelligence sharing concerning early warning of Russian ballistic missile launches. "As a result of these disruptions, civilians - children - are dying," the senators said. asserted
senators → say → disruptions
The senators participated in the call after the Trump administration waived sanctions against Russia approved recently by Congress. asserted
administration → participate → Congress
The senators said that Democrats and Republicans understand what will happen if Russian president Vladimir Putin faces no consequences, and they remain committed to Ukraine and European allies trying to end "the slaughter in Russia's war of aggression". asserted
Ukraine → say → aggression
"Zelensky reiterated his willingness to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities as President Trump has proposed, but only if Putin agrees to the same - a fair request," they said. asserted
they → reiterate → request
Russia strikes 28 energy critical energy facilities Russia has struck 28 substations and other critical energy facilities across Ukraine in another wave of attacks. At least 550,000 households lost power overnight, Volodymyr Zelensky said. asserted
Zelensky → strike → power
“Restoration work is underway everywhere, and electricity is gradually being restored to people. asserted
electricity → restore → people
Both Russia and Ukraine have ramped up attacks on energy facilities after Donald Trump’s energy ceasefire collapsed. asserted
ceasefire → ramp → facilities
Comment: Why a mysterious Russian satellite is threatening to spark a space war If Russia were to detonate a nuclear weapon in low orbit, it would be a game-changer – an escalation in conventional military strategy that would kill no one directly. asserted
that → threaten → one
More alarming still, it would not require the industrial capacity Moscow lacks, but rely on technology it already possesses, says missile defence expert Dr Sidharth Kaushal Trump claims Zelensky ‘never wanted to end war’ as rift deepens with Kyiv Donald Trump has claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky “never wanted to end” the war with Russia as he escalated his attacks on the Ukrainian president. uncertain
he → require → president
Over the past few weeks, the relationship between the US and Ukraine has rapidly declined after Washington announced it would pause sanctions on Moscow and import fuel. asserted
it → decline → fuel
The rift between the two powers deepened on Sunday when Trump posted on Truth Social that Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war”. asserted
Zelensky → deepen → war
He said: “Frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” asserted
he → say → war
Watch: Ukrainian drone attack on St Petersburg and Leningrad region Bulgarian court approves arrest warrant for two Germans over Starlink fire asserted
court → watch → fire
A Bulgarian court approved the issuance of a European arrest warrant for two German citizens accused of setting fire to SpaceX Starlink antennas near Sofia, a spokesperson told Reuters. asserted
spokesperson → approve → Reuters
Prosecutors allege the two entered Bulgaria from Serbia on 9 October 9, spent several hours in the country and later returned to Serbia. asserted
two → allege → Serbia
They are accused of setting fire to Starlink antennas at the Plana Teleport facility south of Sofia. asserted
They → accuse → Sofia
If convicted, they face between three and 12 years in prison, Bulgarian state news agency BTA reported. asserted
BTA → convict → prison
The ruling can be appealed within three days asserted
ruling → appeal → days
Ukraine uses Starlink terminals extensively for battlefield communications and installs Starlink receivers in many of its drones as part of their guidance systems Other countries have blamed Russia-linked sabotage for similar fire incidents. asserted
countries → use → incidents
Moscow says such accusations are baseless and the result of anti-Russian hysteria Zelensky discusses speeding up supplies of Patriots with Lockheed Martin Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed ways of speeding up supplies of the Patriot system, vital to countering Russia ballistic missiles, with representatives of the US company Lockheed Martin. asserted
Zelensky → say → company
The Ukrainian leader said it is the company’s “Patriot systems and F-16 planes that play an important role in defending against Russian ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. asserted
that → say → missiles
We talked about how we can expand and increase supplies,” he added. asserted
he → talk → supplies
“The company is currently ramping up production of ballistic missile interceptors. asserted
company → ramp → interceptors
We count on the opportunity to purchase some of them to protect more lives. asserted
We → count → lives
“We are also trying to do everything possible to ensure that F-16 maintenance and repairs are carried out in Ukraine.” asserted
maintenance → try → Ukraine
Homeland Security grants temporary deportation reprieve for more than 100K Ukrainians and Sudanese More than 100,000 people from Ukraine and Sudan can stay in the United States without immediate risk of deportation, the Department of Homeland Security said, in what amounts to a temporary reprieve after their right to stay in the country was set to expire Monday. asserted
right → grant → country
…and 18 more, not listed.
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