Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the meeting between Witkov and Zelenskiy “positive” as efforts to end the war intensify.
Published October 21, 2026
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for talks with the Russian leader on the Ukraine war after “positive” talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Norway.
Mr. Witkov is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin in the northwestern Russian city on Wednesday, as the United States seeks an end to the war that started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four-and-a-half years ago.
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US President Donald Trump has expressed growing dissatisfaction with Zelensky in recent weeks and suggested someone else should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf. The remarks signaled a new deterioration in relations between the two countries, while President Zelensky accused the United States of withholding important information sharing.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the meeting between Witkov and Zelenskiy was “positive,” adding that the U.S. envoy would share the results with Putin. President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting with Zelensky, but it was held virtually due to illness. Mr. Kushner is also expected to attend the meeting with President Putin remotely.
“He could go to St. Petersburg armed with these ideas and share them with the Russian side, and let’s see if we can make some progress,” Rubio said.
The Prime Ministers of Norway and Finland also attended the talks in Oslo. Representatives of the European Union and NATO were also present. After Tuesday’s meeting, President Zelenskiy said “very important” information from the United States had been recovered.
President Zelensky also accused the United States of slowing down StarShield, an internet service vital to Ukraine’s battlefield operations. StarShield is a military grade equivalent to StarLink and was also developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Mr. Rubio dismissed Mr. Zelensky’s accusations, saying Mr. Trump “has nothing to do with the decisions that Starlink and StarShield make.” Musk disputes this, saying such decisions can only be made by the U.S. military and the president.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk had ordered the service to slow down, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
As diplomatic efforts intensify, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange long-range attacks.
At least one person was killed and two others injured in a Ukrainian military drone strike in Russia’s western Bryansk region on Wednesday, Governor Egor Kovalchuk said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s emergency services said two people were killed in a Russian attack on a high-rise building in the Svyatoshinsky district of the capital Kiev.
