WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Oct 21 — US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss proposals on ending Russia’s years-long conflict with Ukraine.
The talks come one day after Witkoff’s meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, which a US official described as “constructive”.
Kyiv previously accused the US of withholding key intelligence – a claim rejected as “scandalous” by Washington. Zelensky said on Tuesday that intelligence sharing with the US on Russian missile attacks “works now”.
Zelensky and his European allies said it was now up to Russia to respond to the proposals agreed in Oslo when Witkoff meets Putin on Wednesday.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also took part in the talks, said “genuine progress” was made on proposals to achieve peace but gave no details and warned that patience would be needed.
Witkoff was not present at the joint press conference after Tuesday’s talks in the Norwegian capital. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, another key envoy, took part in the meeting via video link.
A US official later described the talks as “very productive and constructive”, saying there was a “strong alignment at the working level” among the US, Ukraine and Europe on “the next steps”.
The official confirmed that Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin in Russia tomorrow to discuss the proposals and that Kushner will again participate virtually.
Putin is yet to publicly comment on the latest developments, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the Kremlin would listen to what Wiktoff would offer, while ruling out “any political concessions”.
Relations between Ukraine and the US have soured in recent weeks to the extent that Trump has said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president, and most recently “for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine”.
Ahead of next month’s US midterm elections, Trump has also sought to blame Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries for fuel prices which have been rising since the start of the US-led war on Iran.
Speaking after Zelensky’s news conference in Oslo, Trump again told reporters at the White House he wanted Kyiv to “make a deal”. He said Russia would like to “get it done” and it was “time for Ukraine to end this war”.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Russian drone attacks have continued this week. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed on Tuesday – four in Kyiv and the capital region, another four in the eastern Donetsk region, and two in the central city of Dnipro. Another attack overnight on Wednesday killed two more people near Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.
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Addressing the issue of US intelligence sharing after Tuesday’s talks, Zelensky said he was “thankful that intelligence works now”.
“Speaking about early warning, which is very important for our people, our children, adults, civilians because we can hear when ballistic[s] is coming – so we are thankful to American side, now it works, it’s great,” the Ukrainian president said.
He said he also hoped for a good result on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite access as well, after Ukraine’s military had reported in recent days speed restrictions on the US platform used by Kyiv to carry out drone strikes against Russia.
Before the Oslo talks, Zelensky said he had had a “constructive discussion” with Rubio about the need for US early warnings, missile interceptors and Starlink.
Last week, a bipartisan group of US senators called for an urgent investigation into speed restrictions to the Starlink network in Ukraine.
And Zelensky also restated that Ukraine was “ready for negotiations” to end the war.
“Of course, we are not losing this war, but we are losing people because Russia attacks,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader added that “strong” security guarantees for Ukraine were also discussed in Oslo, as well as energy ceasefire proposals.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who also took part in the talks, stressed that Europe “needs to be at the table” during any discussions about how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Unconfirmed reports earlier on Tuesday said the transfer of more US-made Patriot interceptor missiles – the only effective weapon in shooting down Russian ballistic missiles – had not yet been approved.
Rubio, who is currently on a visit to India, admitted to reporters that it may be true that Patriot interceptors had not yet arrived in Ukraine – but he stressed that nothing had been denied to Kyiv intentionally.
European leaders meanwhile have expressed concern about recent US statements from the US towards Russia.
On Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke of “mixed pictures and messages” on the war, adding that he was trying to convince the American government “in total that this is something we have to resolve jointly”.
“It’s really a big effort for our budgets, it’s really a big thing for the European Union, but we are doing that and we are trying to keep on doing that until this terrible war ends,” the German leader told Bloomberg TV.
Asked during an interview on Monday whether or not he saw Ukraine as a US ally, US Vice-President JD Vance said Kyiv was “certainly a partner in some ways, but we have some divergent interests from time to time, like for example… I think they should stop bombing Russian energy”.
“We don’t have a formal alliance as far as I know with Ukraine. They’re not in Nato, I don’t think they should be in Nato… we’re gonna work together on some things, but also we’re going to be opposite on some things too,” he said.