European leaders are rethinking their approach to the Kremlin, Financial Times foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman writes. More politicians in the European Union now agree that negotiations with Vladimir Putin should not remain the exclusive prerogative of the United States. European countries could soon open their own talks with the Kremlin. Channels of communication are already in place, he says.
EU policy toward Russia has rested on two main pillars until now: support for Ukraine and sanctions. European leaders have tried to shape the negotiations by influencing Donald Trump’s position, but those efforts are growing less effective. Europe also fears Trump is more interested in business deals with Moscow than in security issues.
In any direct talks, Putin could be offered two options for ending the war, Rachman writes: freezing the conflict along the front line in exchange for a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, or ceding all of the Donbas to Moscow’s control, after which Kyiv could join the alliance.
Meanwhile, relations between Kyiv and Washington are going through a new crisis, triggered by an energy crisis and Trump’s push to lower diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections to Congress.
Trump has repeatedly urged Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries and declare an energy truce. After diplomatic failure, he struck a deal with Moscow on diesel supplies. Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States had “chosen the side” of Russia. Trump responded that it was easier for him to reach an agreement with Putin than with Zelensky, adding that Ukraine needs to hold elections.
Relations between the two leaders are at their “lowest point” since the clash in the Oval Office in 2025, the WSJ writes. The latest exchange took place a day earlier: Trump accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war, while Zelensky said Ukraine is being pressured to capitulate.
Amid this, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has spoken out against Ukraine joining NATO: “We don’t have a formal alliance as far as I know with Ukraine. They’re not in NATO. I don’t think that they should be in NATO,” he said. Vance also refused to call Kyiv an ally of Washington, saying they have “divergent interests from time to time.”
War in photographs. Komyshuvakha.
Residents of Komyshuvakha, a front-line village in the Zaporizhzhia region, are being evacuated because of the threat of Russian drone strikes. These photos were taken October 19, 2026.
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