SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia: US envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saint Petersburg and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday following “very productive” talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
The trip by Donald Trump’s special envoy is part of efforts to draw a line under a bitter feud between Kyiv’s leader and the US president over the war with Russia.
After talks with Witkoff in Oslo, Zelensky thanked Washington on Tuesday for the resumption of US intelligence on Russian strikes.
The positive tone followed days of friction between Kyiv and Washington after Trump struck a diesel-supply deal with Putin and called for Zelensky to be replaced after Ukraine refused to stop hitting Russian oil refineries.
“We are thankful that intelligence works,” Zelensky told reporters in Oslo, describing the early warnings as “very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians” when ballistic missiles were about to strike.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, whose country hosted Tuesday’s talks, said Witkoff would next travel to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
Witkoff’s meeting with Putin on Wednesday would include Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner participating virtually, a US official told AFP.
The official added that Zelensky had held “very productive and constructive discussions” with Witkoff and Kushner, who took part remotely while suffering from the flu.
“Ukraine brought forward new ideas and proposals,” the official said.
‘Make a deal’
Trump saying at the White House that he wanted Zelensky to “make a deal” with Russia, which is ramping up strikes as a bitter winter looms.
Trump, who called on Zelensky to resign last week, also criticised the Ukrainian president for not accepting terms he said he had offered during an infamous televised row in the Oval Office in February 2025.
Ukraine reacted with dismay after Trump also waived sanctions against Russia.
The feud spiralled as Zelensky accused Trump of weakness, and then alleged that the United States was deliberately withholding vital intelligence and delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles.
Ukraine has also reported a reduction in speeds on Starshield, the US military satellite system it uses for battlefield communications and strikes on Russian-occupied territory.
Trump has denied ordering a reduction in speeds on Starshield after Elon Musk — whose company SpaceX developed it — said the order could only have come from the White House.
But the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that it was indeed Musk who ordered the slowdown in the military-grade version of Starlink.
‘Our future’
Witkoff’s meetings follow furious diplomatic efforts in Washington, Kyiv and Western capitals to calm the row.
Zelensky told US senators on Monday that “the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles” already paid for by European countries, while the shipment was waiting for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s signature.
Several European countries were ready to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were awaiting US approval, he said.
Trump — whose Republican party faces tough midterm elections as fuel prices soar — has accused Zelensky of a lack of effort to resolve the conflict.
