It seems unlikely Putin and Obama discussed Ukraine much in China:
U.S. President Barack Obama discussed Iran, Syria, and Ukraine during three meetings on November 11 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said that Putin and Obama spoke for "a total of approximately 15-20 minutes" during the gathering in Beijing.
Both Meehan and Russian officials said their conversations covered Iran, Syria, and Ukraine.
Neither country has released details.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are at their lowest since the Cold War, with Russia under Western sanctions over its annexation of Crimea in March and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On November 10, the United States accused Russia of providing "tanks and other heavy equipment" to separatists and urged Moscow to "stop fueling the fire."
Russia and the United States are two of the six powers seeking an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program by November 24.
Heavy shelling increases fears for Ukraine cease-fire, Reuters reports:
Heavy shelling resumed around the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said.
More than a dozen mortar bombs were heard in the city centre, though it was unclear who had launched them or what was under fire. Fighting has often centred around Donetsk airport which is outside the city centre.
Heavy shelling of Donetsk at the weekend increased concerns that a ceasefire between the rebels and government forces could crumble.
Some interesting comments from the new EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Berlin today on the situation in Ukraine, which she says is "clearly going in the wrong direction." However, no one seems to have asked her about how one of her spokespeople is married to a Gazprom lobbyist. (Mogherini starts taking about Ukraine around the 3-minute mark):