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Thursday | October 22, 2026 | Dhaka

US hails Zelensky talks, Trump envoy to meet Putin

 BBC
 Published: 12:09 AM, 22 October 2026
Trump envoy Witkoff (L) joined Finnish President Stubb (C) and Zelensky (R) before their talks in Oslo.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin after Ukraine’s leader said American intelligence sharing about deadly Russian strikes “works now”.

Kyiv had accused the US of recently withholding such intelligence, causing Ukrainians to lose their lives – a claim rejected as “scandalous” by Washington.

Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking after meeting Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday for talks later described as “constructive” by a US official.

The Ukrainian president and his European allies said it was now up to Russia to respond to the proposals agreed in Oslo when Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss measures to end the war.

Putin is yet to publicly comment on the latest developments, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the Kremlin will listen to what Witkoff offers while ruling out “any political concessions”.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also took part in the talks in Oslo alongside the Norwegian prime minister, said “genuine progress” had been made on proposals to achieve peace but gave no details, and warned that patience would be needed.

Witkoff was not present at their joint press conference with Zelensky after the talks, nor was President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner who had attended via video link.

A US official later said the meeting had been “very productive and constructive” and that there was a “strong alignment at the working level” between the US, Ukraine and Europe on “next steps”.

Relations between Ukraine and the US have soured in recent weeks to the extent that President 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.