Trump does not plan to meet Putin “in the near future,” Axios reports, citing a White House spokesperson. The United States believes a face-to-face meeting between Lavrov and Rubio is unnecessary after their recent productive conversation, Axios reports, citing the White House.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will continue to work on plans for a possible meeting between the presidents of the two countries, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing sources.
President Donald Trump clarified the situation by stating that a decision on the meeting with Putin has not yet been made: “I don’t want to waste time.” He then stated: “I didn’t say the meeting with Putin would be a waste of time. A lot is happening on this front. We will inform you within the next two days.”
Regarding the Budapest summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated: “Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is currently in Washington. Preparations for the peace summit are underway. The date is still unknown. As soon as the time comes, we will organize it,” Orbán wrote on social media. Hungary will not comply with the ICC ruling on Vladimir Putin’s arrest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó stated in an interview with CNN. If a European country bans Putin’s plane from flying to meet Trump in Hungary, it means it doesn’t want peace, Péter Szijjártó emphasized. Previously, the Polish Foreign Minister had stated that he “could not guarantee” that the country would not detain the plane carrying the Russian president due to the ICC’s decision to arrest him.
A meeting between Lavrov and Rubio could take place in Budapest on October 30, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. However, according to Russian sources, the date is unclear: the Russian Foreign Ministry will immediately share information on the meeting between Lavrov and Rubio as soon as it becomes available, Maria Zakharova told TASS. Regarding the date given by the Times, Zakharova again urged people not to participate in the “information farce.”
The fact is that despite the “productive” call between Rubio and Lavrov, the points of view are very different. Preparations for the Russia-US summit are continuing, however, said Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF. “Preparations for the Russia-US summit are underway; there are still no agreements on a meeting between Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters. He denied Western reports of a classified memo Moscow had sent to Washington: the two countries have not exchanged such documents in recent days.
Bloomberg reports: “European countries are developing a 12-point plan to end the war in Ukraine. Key provisions of the plan include: the war will end along the current front lines; all Ukrainian children kidnapped in Russia will be returned; all prisoners of war on both sides will be released; Ukraine will receive security guarantees, funds to repair war damage, and an accelerated path to European Union membership. Russia will receive a phased lifting of sanctions and the return of frozen assets worth up to $300 billion as soon as it agrees to transfer compensation to Ukraine. All sanctions and restrictions against Russia will be immediately reinstated if it attacks Ukraine again. After the end of the war, Russia and Ukraine will begin negotiations on the future of the lost territories, but Kiev and European countries will not officially recognize Russia’s sovereignty over them.”
Leaders of several EU countries plan to travel to Budapest for the meeting between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Politico reports, citing European diplomats. According to the publication, some EU politicians will push for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to also attend the meeting. The issue is securing Zelenskyy’s participation in this and any future negotiating sessions. The EU has transferred nearly €178 billion to Ukraine since the conflict began, according to European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
Norway is allocating an additional NOK 1.5 billion ($149.4 million) to Ukraine to provide electricity and heating to residents. The support is provided through the EU’s Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF), which mobilizes public and private investment for the country’s recovery. Zelenskyy recently Visited Norway, where he met with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
A photo report from the Bulgarian defense plant “Samel-90” shows the drones it also produces for Ukraine.
The Czech Republic will donate a space satellite to Ukraine. The satellite is expected to be launched into orbit within a year. It will be used for observations and will be able to collect data regardless of weather conditions and daylight hours.
The Rada supported the draft 2026 state budget in the first reading. 256 deputies voted in favor. According to the draft, state budget revenues will amount to UAH 2.4 trillion, an increase of UAH 446.8 billion (18.8%) compared to 2025. Expenditures will amount to UAH 4.8 trillion, an increase of UAH 415 billion compared to 2025. Specifically: Defense and security spending is projected at UAH 2.8 trillion (up UAH 168.6 billion compared to 2025).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Ukraine has once again expressed its readiness to end the war. We met with the President of the United States of America and agreed that this is how we will try to organize a dialogue, along the current lines. This was precisely President Trump’s signal to his team. He has also stated it publicly.”
The broader Ukraine’s reach, the greater Russia’s willingness to end the war, Zelenskyy said. “These weeks have confirmed this once again. The discussion on the Tomahawks proved to be a powerful diplomatic investment: we forced Russia to demonstrate that the Tomahawks are precisely the card they are paying attention to,” he said.
Zelensky signed a law on the deployment of Ukrainian armed forces units to other countries. The document provides for deployment to Turkey and the United Kingdom during martial law.
Ukraine has provided security guarantees for the restoration of regular external power supply to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the Russian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti. According to the ministry, consultations on this issue were “long and difficult.” Without guarantees, the restoration of the nuclear power plant’s damaged power line “would have been impossible,” the ministry noted.
Vladimir Putin conducted a strategic training exercise for the nuclear forces, involving their land, sea, and air components, according to the Kremlin. The Russian military used the Yars mobile land-based complex at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the Bryansk submarine in the Sea of Galicia, and the Yars-class submarine at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Barents and Tu-95 bombers in a training exercise for nuclear forces, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported. Vladimir Putin emphasized that it was a scheduled exercise.
The Bryansk nuclear submarine launched a Sineva ballistic missile, and a Yars ballistic missile was launched from Plesetsk toward the Kura test site in Kamchatka. Tu-95MS bombers also launched cruise missiles.
Vladimir Putin awarded Nikita Mikhalkov the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
The State Duma adopted a law on the status of war veterans for volunteers who have signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense from October 1, 2022, to September 1, 2023. Reservists will not be called upon to participate in special military operations or carry out missions outside Russia. This was announced by Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, Deputy Head of the General Directorate for Organization and Mobilization of the General Staff. of the Russian Armed Forces.
Russian non-resource and energy exports increased by 6% in the first nine months of 2025, reaching $111.4 billion, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov announced on October 21 at the Made in Russia International Export Forum. The share of these exports in Russian GDP exceeded 12% in the first half of the year.
The Federation Council denounced the agreement between Russia and the United States on plutonium disposal.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on October 22. Overnight, Russian forces continued to destroy Ukraine’s energy sector. In Kiev, the TPP-5 burned on the city’s left bank. In Zaporizhia, power outages occurred after at least 15 air strikes. A series of missiles “Geranium” bombers hit Izmail in the Odessa region, damaging energy and port infrastructure. Explosions were also heard in Kamyanske and Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region. During the day, the Chernihiv region (where energy supplies are limited) was hit (Water supply is already cut off) and Sumy.
Ukrainian forces launched several waves of drone strikes, downing over 50 drones in the Bryansk region in the evening, a major event. The takeoff of 11 Ukrainian aircraft equipped with Storm Shadow missiles was alarming, but they were shot down by air defenses. In the morning, new launches were detected near Odessa, and footage of an attack on a local factory was circulating from Saransk (Mordovia).
In the Bryansk region, Ukrainian forces’ FPV drones attacked the village of Vishnevy, in the Klimovsky district, injuring two civilians.
In the Sumy sector, assault units of the Northern Group of Forces continue to break through Ukrainian defenses in combat. Ukrainian forces are launching counterattacks against units that have regained combat capability in the areas of Kostyantynivka, Varachyn, and Korchakivka, but according to Russian social media, “they were unsuccessful and were pushed back to their original positions.”
In the Belgorod region, one person was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike.
In the direction of Kharkiv, fighting is ongoing in and around Vovchansk. GrV Sever reports ongoing offensive actions by Russian troops on the left bank of the Vovcha River in Vovchansk, in the forest west of Serebryanskyy, in the Tykhe area, and on the Milove-Khatnie front.
In Kupyansk, Ukrainian forces acknowledge the expansion of the Russian troops’ zone of control. Fighting is ongoing in high-rise buildings, and Ukrainian forces are attempting to counterattack.
Confirmation has arrived from Pokrovsk that the Russian Marine group has completed the reclamation of Volodymyrivka.
Extremely interesting events have unfolded on the Zaporizhia front in Malaya Tokmachka. Russian forces successfully assaulted the village using armored vehicles; three-quarters of the village is now occupied. The Ukrainians brought reinforcements from Orichiv as nightfall fell, and Russian forces are preparing for counterattacks.
On the Kherson front, Russian forces are attempting to destroy the remaining bridge on the island of Karantynnyy Ostriv with air strikes. On the Russian-controlled shore, in Nova Kakhovka, Ukrainian shelling has left one dead and four wounded. Ukrainian forces have shelled 13 other locations.
Graziella Giangiulio
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