Witkoff Arrives in Oslo for Talks With Zelenskyy, Plans Putin Meeting in Moscow Next

Since Zelenskyy told U.S. lawmakers on Monday that "some political decision has been made to slow down" American support, the diplomatic track has moved fast. Special envoy Steve Witkoff landed at Oslo Airport today, Oct. 20, for talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders on a peace proposal.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, will join by video. A U.S. official told Axios he has the flu.

Who is in the room

Norway and Finland are hosting. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb are meeting Zelenskyy, who is also due to be received by the Norwegian king and visit parliament.

Representatives of the E4 countries (the UK, France, Germany and Poland), plus EU and NATO officials, are expected to take part. Poland's seat matters. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had criticized Warsaw's exclusion from earlier talks among Britain, France and Germany.

Støre said Kyiv itself asked for Witkoff and Kushner to attend. "The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path," he said.

Zelenskyy has not personally sat in most of the U.S.-led talks. Those have run through Witkoff, Kushner and negotiators he appointed. Neither he nor Putin has attended any direct Ukraine-Russia talks aimed at ending the war.

The Moscow leg

The U.S. official said Witkoff plans to go to Russia after Oslo. He hopes to meet Putin and present ideas developed with Ukraine and European partners. The official gave no date for the Moscow trip.

The official said the Oslo meeting builds on discussions at Witkoff's club near Miami, where Ukraine pledged to review proposals for a path toward a lasting settlement. U.S., Ukrainian and European officials worked on the drafts over the past week. Witkoff and Kushner spoke with Zelenskyy on Sunday, Oct. 18, the official added.

"President Trump has directed an intensive process to develop a comprehensive peace proposal with Ukraine and Europe, and the next step is to test whether that work can form the basis for serious negotiations with Russia," the official said.

The Moscow trip is also expected to cover Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American teacher. Russia detained him in 2022 and sentenced him to almost seven years for allegedly fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. The U.S. says he is being held unlawfully.

Witkoff and Kushner last met Putin in Moscow on Sept. 5.

Washington and Kyiv at odds

The backdrop is tense. Before Oslo, Zelenskyy said he had a "substantive" and "constructive" conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is traveling in Asia. They covered ballistic missile interceptors, early warning of Russian missile attacks, intelligence sharing and Starlink.

Zelenskyy did not say whether Rubio committed to anything. The two agreed to speak again soon.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine has nearly run out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors and that the Pentagon is delaying delivery of missiles other countries bought for Kyiv. He also says speed limits remain on the military-grade version of SpaceX's satellite service, and that Ukraine received late warnings or none about recent Russian missile strikes.

Trump's public posture is hostile. "To be honest, I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," he said. On Oct. 19 he said he would consider a meeting with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at next month's APEC summit in China, mainly on nuclear weapons.

Asked whether such a meeting would address Ukraine, he said: "I would do it, not so much for Ukraine, because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much."

Over the past two weeks Trump announced a deal encouraging Russian diesel exports and waived sanctions that were about to take effect under a law he signed last month. Zelenskyy says those moves help Putin. The administration is also pressing Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil infrastructure.

Moscow's line is that Kyiv needs negotiators prepared to take responsibility, according to a statement by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Strikes continue

Russia launched another missile and drone attack on civilian areas today. Officials said at least seven people were killed. A drone hit the highway linking Kyiv to Odesa, killing three and injuring four, according to Kyiv's regional prosecutor's office.

DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said three of its facilities in the Odesa region were hit, leaving more than 32,000 families without power. A Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Oct. 19 damaged a metro station.

Russia is taking hits too. The governor of Tambov Oblast said a fire broke out at an oil pumping station after an overnight attack.

What comes next

No results from the Oslo session have been announced. It is unclear whether Witkoff reaches Moscow with a proposal Kyiv and its European partners have signed onto, and whether Putin agrees to take the meeting. Rubio and Zelenskyy are due to talk again, and Patriot deliveries and intelligence sharing remain unresolved.