US envoy Witkoff pushes Ukraine peace talks with Putin after Oslo meeting with Zelenskyy

Summary

US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway on Tuesday in talks in Oslo that also involved Trump's envoy, and Finland's president hailed progress toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Reports differ on Witkoff's next step. POLITICO said he would fly to Russia on Wednesday to discuss peace proposals, with the US set to offer Putin face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy and Trump. France 24 said he was headed to Russia to meet Putin, and a Guardian live blog said he was meeting Putin in St Petersburg. The Kremlin said on Tuesday it hoped a meeting between Putin and Witkoff could be organised in the near future to discuss the Ukraine peace process and other very important issues. Separately, Trump welcomed the release of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen held by Moscow, saying Hubbard was freed at Trump's request, made to Putin in a phone call the previous week, with nothing given in return.

Timeline

1. Straits Times

   20 Oct 2026, 10:16 UTCSource ↗

   The Straits Times reported that the Kremlin said on Tuesday it hoped a meeting in Russia between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff could be organised in the near future to discuss the Ukraine peace process and other very important issues.

2. Financial Times

   20 Oct 2026, 15:11 UTCSource ↗

   The Financial Times reported that the Finnish president hailed progress in talks about ending Russia's war in Ukraine, which involved Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's envoy in Oslo.

3. POLITICO

   20 Oct 2026, 18:13 UTCSource ↗

   POLITICO reported that Steve Witkoff would fly to Russia on Wednesday to discuss peace proposals, and that the US was set to offer Putin face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy and Trump.

4. France 24

   21 Oct 2026, 09:58 UTCSource ↗

   France 24 reported that Witkoff was headed to Russia to meet Putin for peace talks, after meeting Zelenskyy in Norway on Tuesday.

5. The Guardian

   21 Oct 2026, 14:00 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian's live blog reported that Witkoff was meeting Putin in St Petersburg and that Trump welcomed the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been held by Moscow.