In brief
On 22 October Putin rejected Zelensky's proposal to freeze the Donbass front line and said the eastern region is Russian territory, while Russia is ready for trilateral talks on a final deal.
Zelensky warned that giving up Sloviansk and Kramatorsk would open the way toward the Dnipro region, while Russia controls between 75% and 85% of Donetsk without holding either city.
Trump said Musk restored Starlink access in Ukraine, and the WSJ reported Trump phoned Musk on Wednesday, 21 October, but Ukrainian officials said the system was not fully restored.
Sobyanin cited 155 drones launched at the Moscow region, and the Russian Defence Ministry said 433 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over 20 regions in 12 hours.
- 22 OctRubio and Rutte discuss peace efforts and Black Sea security
- Overnight 22-23 OctoberUkrainian drones target Moscow region, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian areas
- 23 OctRussian strikes hit energy sites in Zhytomyr region
Putin rules out giving up occupied land
On 22 October Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready to resume trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States, but only toward a final peace agreement rather than a short ceasefire. His remarks followed a meeting in St Petersburg on Wednesday, 21 October, with White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Putin said security guarantees and a wider European security architecture would be on the agenda. He rejected Volodymyr Zelensky's latest proposal to freeze the front line in the Donbass in exchange for direct negotiations. Putin argued that the whole eastern region is Russian territory, pointing to referendums in occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that were not internationally recognised. He added that any idea of a military victory over Russia is an illusion.
Zelensky refuses to cede Sloviansk and Kramatorsk
Zelensky has been open to settling the front on the battlefield, but he insists that giving up Sloviansk and Kramatorsk would let Moscow push toward the Dnipro region. In an interview with the British podcast The Diary of a CEO, he asked where security guarantees would come from if Ukrainian forces pulled back. Russia holds between 75% and 85% of Donetsk but has not taken either city. Both cities host a large industrial base and rail and road links to the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions. Losing them could weaken Ukraine's defence across the rest of the Donbass, where Russia has controlled the Luhansk region since July 2022.
Starlink access and the Musk call
Trump said Elon Musk had restored Starlink internet access in Ukraine after restrictions hurt the Ukrainian armed forces, but he declined to say whether he had made the call himself. The Wall Street Journal reported that US officials said Trump phoned Musk on Wednesday, 21 October, asking him to lift the Starshield restrictions. Ukrainian and US officials told the paper the system ran more normally on 22 October, though some Ukrainian officials said it was not fully restored. Musk had denied causing the slowdown and has said the US government ultimately controls Starshield access, while the White House says it never requested the restriction. The episode came as Trump pressed Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he said had pushed up prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
Drone attacks overnight into 23 October
Ukraine launched drones at Russian targets overnight into 23 October. Ukrainian portal Exilenova+ reported that a Federal Tax Service data processing centre in Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod region, about 400 km east of Moscow, was attacked. Russian authorities did not officially confirm the strike and reported only drone shootdowns and airport disruptions in Nizhny Novgorod. Sergei Sobyanin said 155 drones were launched at the Moscow region overnight, five of them neutralised near the city, while Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev reported 33 drones downed over the regional capital and ten districts. Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted and destroyed 433 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 20 regions, Crimea and the Black and Azov seas in the previous 12 hours.
- Moscow region, launched overnight (Sobyanin)
- 155 drones
- 20 Russian regions, Crimea and Black and Azov seas, intercepted in 12 hours (Defence Ministry)
- 433 drones
Data from the article text
Energy strikes and NATO diplomacy
Russian forces struck energy facilities and residential buildings in Zhytomyr region overnight, according to military administration head Vitali Bunechko, who posted on Facebook. No deaths or injuries were reported, six homes were damaged, and more than 900 localities were without power early in the morning. Critical infrastructure in the region switched to backup power sources. On 22 October US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed efforts toward a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, according to a State Department statement. The statement said the two also covered Black Sea security, where surveillance was stepped up and a US aircraft was positioned in Bulgaria, and preparations for the NATO foreign ministers meeting planned for December.