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Russia and the United States: Putin and Witkoff hold three-hour talks at Konstantinovsky Palace

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff have held three hours of talks at Konstantinovsky Palace. Witkoff handed over documents outlining approaches to a settlement following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia was ready to resume trilateral talks “in the first ten days of November,” but described the new proposals from Kyiv and the European Union as of little practical value. The dialogue continues, though there is still no sign of a substantive breakthrough.

Trump

United States: AI Rebounds, but Nerves Remain Frayed

On October 19, the Nasdaq rose 1.1% to 26,431, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, and the Dow slipped 0.1%. A week earlier, the S&P 500 had dropped almost 2% and the Nasdaq 4.5%. By Moscow time on the evening of October 20, the Dow was trading roughly 1% higher, at about 52,458, though the session's final results have yet to be confirmed.

The takeaway: investors are buying tech after the selloff, not buying into the economy. The elites are catching the bounce while keeping a finger on the sell button.

Oil: A

United States: The Record Rests on a Handful of Chipmakers

On October 12, the S&P 500 closed at 7,807 (-0.1%), the Dow rose 0.4% to 51,850, and the Nasdaq lost 0.4%. The semiconductor index has fallen for a fifth straight day and now stands 17% below its June peak. More than 4 in 10 S&P 500 stocks are in the red this year. Takeaway: the market is being held up by 5 to 10 names, while the broader economy sags under the Fed's rate policy. The elites are feeding the storefront, and everything else is being quietly sold off.

Oil

"A Technical-Level Meeting": How Talks About Talks Became the Main Weapon of the Autumn

Over the week of October 5–10, the map did not move, but the diplomatic calendar has grown to the size of a suburban commuter-train timetable: Kyiv is ready, Washington offers, Moscow "does not rule it out." The only thing missing is the train itself.

The fact. Zelensky said that the American team is proposing a trilateral meeting at the technical level before the end of October. Witkoff and Kushner are meeting the Ukrainians in Miami on October 9, and they may travel to Moscow later. At

US and Europe: Bonds Dictate, Stocks Obey

On October 1, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,666, the Dow held at 50,926, and the Nasdaq barely moved. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries first hit a 24-year high, then pulled back. In Europe the picture is harsher: London lost 1.7%, Paris 1.6%, and Frankfurt 1%. The conclusion: elites fear not a specific war, but the price of money. Europe, where the debt market is more fragile, pays for it first.

Oil: The $100 Line Holds

Brent settled above $100 and ended the week at $102.25, with WTI at about $91.10

Russia strikes Kyiv with ballistic missiles for the second time in a row
The attack, which used Zircon/Onyx missiles, Iskanders and 188 drones, mostly hit energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region. Strikes on the power grid a month before winter are clearly systematic.

US–Iran talks mediated by Qatar reach a deadlock
According to Axios, the parties are unwilling to make concessions on a compromise plan that would lift the blockade in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program. Trump may resume strikes after the November congressional elections. The diplomatic window has narrowed sharply amid mutual ultimatums.

Iran attacks four vessels

US-Ukraine: "A Very Good Meeting" — How 40 Minutes in New York Were Sold as a Breakthrough That Never Happened

The week of September 21-25, 2026 gave the world the most talked-about forty minutes of the year: the Trump-Zelensky talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Headlines exploded with words like "breakthrough" and "hope before winter." The actual outcome of the meeting can be summed up in a single sentence — and that should alarm people far more than it should cheer them.

The fact — what happened. On September 22, at UN headquarters, Trump and Zelensky held

Peskov Invites Zelensky to Moscow for Talks Under Full Security Guarantees
The invitation came immediately after Kyiv's statement of readiness for a ceasefire, with the Kremlin setting out conditions for holding the summit. The Moscow format looks less like a genuine proposal and more like a test of Kyiv's actual willingness to negotiate.

Ukraine and 51 UN Member States Declare Support for a Full and Unconditional Ceasefire
A joint statement by Sybiha and Kallas at the UN General Assembly called on Russia to do the same, without specifying any mechanism for monitoring the truce. Broad diplomatic backing does not change

Xi Heads to Washington

Xi Jinping began a three-day state visit to the United States on September 23, at the invitation of President Trump, with the main talks scheduled for September 24 at the White House. This marks his first trip to Washington in 11 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, Beijing and Washington spent several weeks disputing the format of the trip, and in the end the White House backed down, agreeing to a visit with maximum diplomatic honors rather than a working meeting.

Here is how I see it: the fact that Beijing pushed through its preferred

Trump Defends Strikes on Iran and Venezuela from the UN Podium

On September 22, Trump addressed the UN General Assembly, calling Iran the "number one state sponsor of terrorism" and stating that Washington now faces a choice: reach a deal with Tehran or take "much tougher steps." Separately, he confirmed the military operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, and announced a major oil agreement with the new Venezuelan leadership. Trump openly acknowledges that revenues from Venezuelan oil have already "paid back many times over" the cost of the military operation — geopolitics is turning into