What happened in this Geopolitics story?

Zelenskyy held crisis talks with Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Sunday while Trump publicly accused him of sabotaging peace, as Ukraine and Russia traded their largest energy strikes in months.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Zelenskyy** spoke with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on October 18, 2026, saying Ukraine was ready to work "constructively" and "honestly" to end the war and that "a lot depends" on the U.S. position.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Trump** wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," accusing him of targeting Russian diesel refineries in ways that "seriously hurt" U.S. diesel markets.

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Zelenskyy Meets U.S. Envoys as Trump Attacks Him — SkimNews

By The Hindu · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-19

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Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on October 18, 2026, saying Ukraine was ready to work "constructively" and "honestly" to end the war and that "a lot depends" on the U.S. position.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did," accusing him of targeting Russian diesel refineries in ways that "seriously hurt" U.S. diesel markets.
Russia broke Trump's "energy ceasefire" 76 times, Zelenskyy said, with strikes leaving tens of thousands without power across several Ukrainian regions and killing three people.
Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Saint Petersburg since 2022, setting an oil refinery ablaze and killing one person; the Leningrad region said air defence shot down 144 Ukrainian drones.
Putin proposed a meeting on Ukraine with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping but excluded Zelenskyy, according to a Wall Street Journal report that alarmed Kyiv and European allies.
Trump blocked new sanctions on Russia and struck a diesel deal with Moscow, fueling fears in Kyiv and Europe that the White House was steering toward Moscow.
Zelenskyy discussed U.S. Patriot air defence deliveries with the envoys and told NBC it would be a "historic mistake" if Washington formally supported Russia; he also thanked the U.S. for resuming intelligence sharing after a pause left Ukraine vulnerable to Russian missiles.

Why it matters: With no U.S.-led breakthrough achieved, Trump publicly attacking Zelenskyy while pursuing a diesel deal with Moscow and blocking new Russia sanctions signals Washington is tilting away from Kyiv. Putin's reported proposal to meet Trump and Xi without Zelenskyy present suggests any peace framework may be negotiated over Ukraine's head, even as 76 reported "energy ceasefire" violations and the largest Saint Petersburg drone strike since 2022 underscore the fighting is escalating, not de-escalating.