Witkoff and Putin meet in St Petersburg: trilateral Ukraine talks return at technical level
Moscow says it is ready for talks in early November, but says Ukraine must make “necessary decisions”.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 21 at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg. According to a US official, Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume trilateral talks with the US at a technical level. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow is prepared, in principle, to resume talks in early November and that they would address building a post-war security system.
The tone from the Kremlin is double. According to TASS, Kremlin officials said a negotiated resolution is “theoretically possible”, but that for progress Ukraine must make “necessary decisions” and that, if it does not, the situation “will be worse”. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will study the proposals Witkoff brought, but that talks will take a long time. Ushakov assessed that the proposals he attributed to Ukraine and the EU “contained little that was useful”.
Russian state media reported that Witkoff was told a Trump–Putin–Xi meeting is “possible”. Ukrainian officials oppose that idea because it would sideline Ukraine. Zelenskyy told Fox News that the best path is trilateral talks with Trump and Putin and rejected any deal drawn up by China, Russia and the US: “Don't talk about us without us”. He added that any agreement would need approval from Ukraine's parliament.
Alongside the talks, the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, jailed in Russia for more than four years, was confirmed. Trump said no prisoner swap was needed, but tied the release to the US blocking new sanctions on Moscow. Witkoff's description of Putin as a “humanitarian” drew criticism in the US.
Zelenskyy met Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, and Rubio called those talks “positive”. Zelenskyy thanked the US for restoring intelligence sharing, including early warnings of ballistic missile attacks, and said access to Starshield data is still “limited”. Witkoff plans to return to Oslo for consultations with European officials. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Russia may be looking for diplomatic options.
Context: Earlier in October Trump announced an “energy ceasefire”, but neither side confirmed it, and Russia launched new missile attacks within hours. On October 10 Trump announced a deal for Russia to release millions of tons of diesel in the coming months, which Zelenskyy called a sign of “weakness”. Russian state media reported that the first shipment was dispatched on Wednesday.
What is not known? The exact content of the proposals Witkoff brought is not known, nor which “necessary decisions” Moscow wants from Kyiv. It is also unclear whether talks will take place in early November, where, and with what participants. There is still no ceasefire agreement.
What does it mean? The diplomatic door is open, but at a low, technical level and with opposing conditions. For Europe, and for us as energy consumers, what matters most is whether attacks on energy infrastructure stop, since that directly moves fuel prices.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 22, 2026
