Putin Agrees in Principle to Resume Three-Way Ukraine Talks After Nov. 10 as Zelenskyy Backs Front-Line Freeze

Steve Witkoff's Oslo-to-St. Petersburg shuttle produced a date, though not a deal. Following a roughly three-hour meeting with Putin at the Konstantin Palace near St. Petersburg today, Oct. 21, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin agreed "in principle" to resume trilateral talks with Washington and Kyiv after Nov. 10.

Ushakov said the next round could take place in Abu Dhabi. He said the Kremlin wants to discuss a "security framework" for both Russia and Ukraine once the fighting ends, and he gave no detail on what Russia would demand under it.

Hubbard freed, diesel deal stays

Witkoff announced during the visit that Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held for more than four years. Russian prosecutors accused him of fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary, and a Russian court sentenced him in 2024. Hubbard has denied the charge. Video of Hubbard speaking with Witkoff at the St. Petersburg airport followed the meeting.

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev said there is "no question" U.S.-Russian economic cooperation will continue. He said the recently announced diesel deal will proceed despite European criticism.

Putin also raised restoring economic ties with the United States and the possibility of a meeting with China on Ukraine. The two sides also discussed Russian help on the Iran war and potential Russian fertilizer exports to the U.S.

Zelenskyy: freeze first, then guarantees

On Fox News' "Fox & Friends," host Brian Kilmeade asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he would accept a deal that freezes everything where it stands, leaving Ukraine with 75% or more of its territory. "Yes, right now, we have to freeze," Zelenskyy said. "We call it ceasefire or 'stop killing' like President Trump called it. Freeze and stop."

He called that "the minimum of what we need from Russia today." After a ceasefire, he said, Kyiv would ask Trump and European leaders for security guarantees.

Zelenskyy also insisted Ukraine be in the room. "Don't speak about us without us, please," he said. He rejected the idea of surrendering Donbas and told the interviewer Russia "didn't have success" in 2026 and is "not winning on the battlefield."

He said U.S. intelligence sharing, including early warning on missiles, has been restored. Starshield service is "still limited," he said, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has promised to work on it.

Moscow's position has not visibly moved

The gap on substance is wide. Russia's earlier demands, as reported by CNN, include Ukraine handing over all of Donbas, sharply cutting its military and pledging never to join NATO. CNN reported no sign that Moscow has dropped any of them.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week, according to Interfax, "There will be no ceasefire to bring him back to his senses and pump him full of weapons." Russia has long argued that a pause would give Kyiv time to rearm.

The fighting has not stopped. AP photographed police in Kyiv today beside cars destroyed by a Russian drone strike that damaged a residential building. Zelenskyy wrote on X that "Russia strikes our country virtually every hour."

The energy ceasefire Trump announced earlier this month also has not held cleanly. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries in retaliation for Russian attacks shortly after the announcement. He told NPR he learned of the truce "through social," adding, "The president didn't call us."

Washington's own divisions

The diplomacy runs alongside a split in Washington over how to deal with Moscow. Trump waived sanctions on Russia and struck the diesel arrangement to ease an energy shortage tied to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Bipartisan lawmakers criticized the waiver, which Trump said took effect immediately, weeks after he signed a Russia sanctions package passed by Congress.

Republican senators have also objected to the idea of Trump meeting Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to cut a deal Ukraine would be pushed to accept. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Kyiv's absence from such talks would be "nonsense." Zelenskyy has warned the U.S. not to make a "historic mistake" by backing Russia.

What comes next

No date or venue has been fixed. Putin's agreement is "in principle" and tied to a window opening after Nov. 10, with Abu Dhabi floated by Ushakov. Whether Moscow will discuss a freeze at those talks, or keep demanding Donbas first, remains unanswered.

Witkoff said he sees "some degree of momentum." Zelenskyy said he hoped for results from the meeting "in some hours."