# Trump Says He Would Meet Putin and Xi to End the Ukraine War, Possibly Without Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told US senators that Starlink service and US intelligence sharing had been degraded without explanation, leaving Kyiv without advance warning of Russian strikes.

- Published: 2026-10-20T05:08:28.334Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-20/trump-says-he-would-meet-putin-and-xi-to-end-the-ukraine-war
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-appeals-to-us-lawmakers-for-answers-as-white-house-turns-on-kyiv/), [RT](https://rt-english.com/news/647413-zelensky-lobbies-us-senators/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS), [Ukrinform](https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/4176098-trump-ready-to-discuss-ending-ukraine-war-with-putin-xi.html)

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, [Ukrinform reported](https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/4176098-trump-ready-to-discuss-ending-ukraine-war-with-putin-xi.html). He said Zelensky does not need to be present. "Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody's there or not," Trump told reporters, [according to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/19/trump-putin-xi-zelenskyy.html). In an October 9 phone call Putin proposed a three-way summit with Xi next month, possibly at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19.

Zelensky, meanwhile, appealed to Congress. "We want to understand what is happening, why it's happening, and where all this is heading," he told a bipartisan group of US senators and representatives, [the Kyiv Independent reported](https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-appeals-to-us-lawmakers-for-answers-as-white-house-turns-on-kyiv/). [Axios reported](https://www.axios.com/2026/10/19/zelensky-blumenthal-tillis-ukraine-russia-war-intelligence) that he told Senators Richard Blumenthal and Thom Tillis that the Starlink and Starshield satellite services had been degraded and that US intelligence sharing had been disrupted. Both senators said Congress remains "committed to Ukraine."

Moscow's state media describe the situation differently. [RT](https://rt-english.com/news/647413-zelensky-lobbies-us-senators/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS) presents Zelensky's outreach as an attempt to have Congress override the president in "an increasingly bitter confrontation with the White House." Kyiv's account and Moscow's agree on one point: the executive branch, not Congress, now controls the flow of US support.

## What this means

Washington is negotiating the war's outcome directly with the two other major powers, while Ukraine and the European capitals are excluded from the talks. Including Xi gives Beijing a guarantor's role in a European settlement. That supports the desk's view that there are two superpowers and that Russia dominates its neighborhood when the US steps back. The leverage is practical. Starlink coverage and intelligence on incoming strikes are things only Washington can give or withhold, and senators' statements do not restore either one. The precedent is March 2025. After an Oval Office argument, the US paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine and restored it about a week later, once Kyiv accepted a ceasefire framework at talks in Jeddah. The desk's read is that Kyiv will make concessions on the format of negotiations in order to get its intelligence and communications restored before the Shenzhen meetings, while Congress issues statements but passes no binding legislation before the midterms. Ukrainian dollar bonds would gain on a ceasefire, but European defense budgets would not shrink, because European capitals would be preparing for a settlement they did not shape. Congress passing a measure that compels intelligence sharing, or Beijing refusing a three-way format, would prove this wrong.

## What to watch

- Whether Beijing confirms that Xi will join a three-way meeting in Shenzhen. Acceptance would make China a formal party to any Ukraine settlement.
- Whether Ukraine's Starlink and intelligence access is restored. A restoration that follows a concession by Kyiv would show that US support now depends on conditions.
- Statements from European governments on the summit format. Public objections would confirm that the Western coalition is splitting over the terms of a settlement.