22 Oct 2026, 07:30 AM

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US envoy Witkoff presented Putin with proposals drafted by Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo earlier this week. What we know on day 1,702The Kremlin has criticised new peace proposals to end the war after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday. Commenting on the meeting, which followed talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo, the Kremlin warned there was little “substance” in the Ukrainian and European proposals. Despite the lukewarm response from Russia, US president Donald Trump claimed it was “the closest we’ve been” to ending the war. A day before travelling to Russia, Witkoff met Zelenskyy and European leaders in Norway in a meeting aimed at smoothing over a bitter rift between the Ukrainian president and Trump.Commenting on the Witkoff-Putin meeting, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Russia was “in principle, ready to resume” the trilateral talks in mid-November – after crucial US midterm elections – and that the Kremlin wanted them to focus on postwar security. Ushakov said Witkoff briefed Putin on “some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv” from the Oslo meeting, adding though that “there wasn’t really much substance in them”. Zelenskyy said Kyiv backed resuming trilateral talks as soon as possible.Witkoff said his talks with Putin were “constructive” but that “there is still important work left to do”. Discussions would continue between the US, Ukraine and Russia at the technical level, he added.However, the US envoy has face sharp criticism at home for describing Putin as a “humanitarian”, after the Russian leader agreed to free US citizen Stephen Hubbard from a Russian prison. US Republican senator Thom Tillis posted on X: “WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian’.” Trump brushed off Witkoff’s comments, saying “I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other”, while US vice-president JD Vance said: “I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage.”Putin’s order to release Hubbard as he met Witkoff appeared to be Moscow’s latest calculated move to bring Trump further into line with Putin’s position on Ukraine while offering the US president a diplomatic victory before the midterm elections, writes Pjotr Sauer. Trump had previously asked Putin to free Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Trump said on social media: “The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return – an unprecedented situation for Russia … There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release.”Missiles struck Kyiv ⁠in ⁠the early hours ​of Thursday, ⁠a Reuters witness said, ⁠in ​another attack ‌on ‌Ukraine’s capital ‌after a Russian evening airstrike that injured ‌six people and damaged ​homes, a petrol station ⁠and transport equipment. Russia earlier continued to pound Ukrainian cities ahead of winter, with Kyiv officials saying Russian strikes killed at least four people, including two in the capital and an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region. Russian occupation authorities in the Luhansk region said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company killed two people.US secretary of state Marco Rubio said decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were ⁠up to its parent company ⁠SpaceX and Elon Musk, ​not the White House, comments that suggested Musk may have restricted Kyiv’s access to the service. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk had ordered the slowdown of a military-grade ⁠version of Starlink that Ukraine relies on to defend itself against missile attacks from Russia. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said the US has resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv about Russian missile strikes after the Norway meeting with Witkoff. Continue reading...

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