Steve Witkoff, special envoy for US President Donald Trump, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo on Tuesday before traveling to St Petersburg on Wednesday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks aim to discuss proposals for ending Russia's war in Ukraine, which began with a full-scale invasion in 2022. Moscow currently controls roughly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.
A US official described the Oslo meeting as "very productive and constructive" with "strong alignment at the working level" among the US, Ukraine and European partners on next steps. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also attended, said "genuine progress" was made but provided no details. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner participated via video link.
Zelensky said intelligence sharing with the US on Russian missile attacks "works now," reversing recent tensions. Kyiv had previously accused Washington of withholding key intelligence, though the US rejected the claim as "scandalous." The Ukrainian president stated he was "thankful that intelligence works now," noting its importance for early warning of ballistic attacks on civilians. He also raised concerns about speed restrictions on SpaceX's Starlink network, which Ukraine's military uses for drone operations. Unconfirmed reports indicated US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, needed to shoot down Russian ballistic weapons, had not yet been approved for transfer.
Zelensky said Ukraine remains "ready for negotiations" to end the war and that security guarantees and energy ceasefire proposals were discussed in Oslo. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stressed that Europe "needs to be at the table" in any settlement talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would hear Witkoff's proposals but ruled out "any political concessions." Putin has not publicly commented.
Tensions between the Trump administration and Kyiv persist. Vice-President JD Vance said Ukraine was "certainly a partner in some ways" but noted "divergent interests," suggesting Ukraine should stop bombing Russian energy infrastructure. Trump has publicly called for Ukraine to "make a deal" and said it was "time for Ukraine to end this war."
Russian drone attacks continued this week. Ukrainian officials reported at least 12 killed across multiple regions on Tuesday and Wednesday, including four in Kyiv, four in Donetsk, two in Dnipro, and two near Kharkiv.