Russia, Ukraine and the United States have each now said they are willing to return to three-way talks. According to Al Jazeera, the last US-mediated round was held in February. That is the main result of two days of shuttle diplomacy by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. On Tuesday, 20 October, he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo. On Wednesday, 21 October, he spent nearly three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace outside St Petersburg.
At a glance
- US envoy Steve Witkoff met Zelenskyy in Oslo on October 20 and Putin near St Petersburg on October 21.
- Russia freed jailed American teacher Stephen Hubbard and said it was ready in principle to resume three-way technical talks.
- Moscow still says Kyiv must make necessary decisions; no date or venue for new talks has been formally announced.
Before the meeting started, Moscow released a jailed American. After it ended, the Kremlin said it was ready “in principle” to resume talks. But Russian officials also made clear that they still expect Kyiv to give ground.
Two days, two capitals
| Date | Where | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 20 October | Oslo, Norway | Norway and Finland hosted talks with Zelenskyy, Witkoff, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Jared Kushner joined remotely. |
| Wednesday, 21 October | Konstantinovsky Palace | Putin and Witkoff met for nearly three hours, with Kushner joining by video. Al Jazeera described it as Witkoff’s ninth in-person meeting with Putin. |
| Wednesday, 21 October | Moscow and Washington | Stephen Hubbard, an American held in Russia, was freed. A US official told CBS News that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to resume three-way talks at a technical level. |
The Oslo leg: Kyiv’s requests
In a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday morning, he raised three issues. He wrote on X that they were ballistic missile interceptors, early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, and “the situation with Starlink/Starshield, which needs to be restored.”
After Oslo, he said US intelligence was flowing again. “I’m speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians,” he told reporters, as quoted by Euronews.
Norway’s Støre said Kyiv had asked for the American envoys to attend. “The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path,” he said. Zelenskyy also suggested a meeting of the three leaders, Trump, Putin and himself, “to address the issues that only the leaders can do.” He added: “Steve is going to Russia tomorrow, and let’s see what Putin has to say.”
Inside the St Petersburg meeting
Russia opened the day by announcing the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old teacher from Michigan. The Moscow Times reported that Hubbard was taken from his home in Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion and convicted in Russia of serving as a mercenary for the Ukrainian army. Washington called him wrongfully detained; CBS News said he had been jailed for more than four years. Trump said no “swap” was needed for his release. He also said it would not have happened if the US had not stopped new sanctions on Moscow from taking effect the week before.
Witkoff brought what Axios, as cited by Meduza, called an updated plan to end the war. He asked Putin to consider three-way talks. “I’m hoping that you might consider that as a next step in the peace process,” he said, according to The Moscow Times. Witkoff also told Putin that freeing Hubbard made him a “humanitarian”. CBS News reported that the remark drew criticism in the United States.
Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov gave Moscow’s view afterwards. He said Witkoff had briefed Putin on Oslo and that the proposals contained “some new aspects” from the Europeans and Kyiv, but “there wasn’t really much substance in them.” CBS News quoted him as saying the proposals “contained little that was useful.” Ushakov also said Russia was “in principle, ready to resume” talks. He named Abu Dhabi as a possible venue for technical-level discussions on security arrangements for Russia and Ukraine after the war.
Each side’s position after Wednesday
- Moscow: According to Russian state media cited by CBS News, Kremlin officials said a settlement is “theoretically possible” but needs Ukraine’s leaders to make “necessary decisions”. If they do not, officials said, the situation “will be worse”.
- Kyiv: Zelenskyy said the three-way meeting should happen “no later than early November”. He said Ukraine backs “any proposals for a ceasefire, an end to the war, an energy ceasefire as well as humanitarian initiatives.”
- Washington: Trump has been pressing Kyiv. On Tuesday he said it was time for Ukraine to end the war or face “a very bad thing”, Al Jazeera reported.
Timing is unclear: CBS News, citing a Kremlin transcript, quoted Ushakov as saying early November, while Al Jazeera reported mid-November. Nothing has been formally announced.
The strains behind the handshakes
Washington-Kyiv ties are tense. On 10 October, CBS News reports, Trump announced a deal for Russia to release millions of tons of diesel fuel. Ukrainian officials have also worried about Patriot interceptor missiles that European allies have already paid for. Euronews reported that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had not yet approved their transfer. NATO officials said allied-funded deliveries were continuing, and a US government official disputed the claims.
The energy war is part of the bargaining too. Zelenskyy told Bloomberg he had offered to suspend Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities in exchange for more US-made Patriot interceptors. We covered an earlier version of that idea in Ukraine’s offer of a reciprocal energy-strike pause.
The fighting has not paused. On the day of the meeting, Ukraine’s emergency service said a Russian attack on a Kyiv high-rise killed two people, and Russia’s Bryansk governor said a Ukrainian drone killed at least one.
Why a restart is not a breakthrough
The last US-mediated round, in February, came before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran, Al Jazeera noted. Restarting a format does not settle the questions that stalled it. Moscow is asking Kyiv to make “necessary decisions”. Kyiv is asking for interceptors, intelligence and satellite access so it can keep defending itself while it negotiates.
The most likely next step is a meeting of technical teams, not leaders. Its agenda, as Ushakov described it, is post-war security arrangements. A leaders’ summit, which Zelenskyy has asked for, has not been agreed.
For readers in India and elsewhere, the war’s reach into fuel markets is the practical stake: Russian diesel is now part of US-Russia dealings, and any real ceasefire would matter more than this week’s handshakes.
What to watch in the coming weeks
- An official date and venue for the technical-level talks, with Abu Dhabi the venue Russia has floated.
- Whether the Patriot interceptors paid for by European allies reach Ukraine, and whether Starlink/Starshield access is restored in full.
- Whether Washington lets the delayed sanctions on Russia take effect, or keeps holding them back as leverage.
More world coverage is in our International section.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: Putin and Zelenskyy back three-way US peace talks on Ukraine (21 Oct 2026)
- CBS News: Russia says Ukraine must make “necessary decisions” as Witkoff meets Putin
- The Moscow Times: Putin releases American jailed in Russia as Witkoff visits (21 Oct 2026)
- Meduza: Witkoff arrives in St. Petersburg for talks with Putin (21 Oct 2026)
- Euronews: Zelenskyy calls for trilateral talks after meeting US delegation in Oslo (20 Oct 2026)
- Kyiv Independent: Zelensky arrives in Norway for talks with Trump envoy
Drafted with AI assistance; fact-checked and edited by Ajay Mahawar, Taaza Khabar.
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