Witkoff meets Zelenskyy in Oslo before expected trip to see Putin

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, in talks hosted by Norway and Finland that come as relations between Kyiv and Washington are badly strained.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb are taking part. Witkoff has travelled to the Norwegian capital, while Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and fellow envoy, is joining remotely.

“Ukraine has requested that US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join the meetings,” Støre said on Tuesday morning. “The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path.” He added: “I am glad that they will be able to participate.”

Britain, France, Germany and Poland, along with the European Union and NATO, are also expected to be represented. Poland’s place at the table matters in Warsaw: Prime Minister Donald Tusk had complained after being left out of earlier talks among the British, French and German leaders, saying Poland must have a say on Ukraine’s future.

On to Putin

From Oslo, Witkoff is expected to travel on to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin. The agenda there is reported to include the possible release of an American held in Russia. Stephen Hubbard, 74, was detained in 2022 and sentenced to almost seven years for allegedly fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

According to people familiar with the plans quoted in the American press, Trump has grown more insistent that Zelenskyy accept a settlement, arguing that holding on to the Donbas is not worth the cost and that Ukraine could gain financially from a deal, even one drawn largely on Russia’s terms.

A US official said American, Ukrainian and European representatives had worked together over the past week on two tracks: securing Ukraine’s future through security guarantees, European integration and a post-war economic framework, and a proposal for Russia along with a new security arrangement between Russia and Europe.

A strained relationship

The meeting follows a Sunday phone call between Zelenskyy, Witkoff and Kushner. Zelenskyy has said he offered to suspend Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities in exchange for more US-made Patriot interceptors, and the Trump administration has been pressing Kyiv to halt those strikes.

Ukrainian officials say a batch of Patriot interceptors already paid for by European allies is being held up in Washington. NATO officials say allied-funded deliveries are continuing, and a US official has disputed that anything is being withheld. Kyiv is also unhappy about limits on intelligence-sharing and problems with Starlink and Starshield satellite communications used by its forces.

On Tuesday morning Zelenskyy spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about three issues. “First, ballistic missile interceptors, which are needed to protect lives,” he wrote afterwards, adding that the Starlink and Starshield situation “needs to be restored”.

In a message on Saturday, Zelenskyy struck a conciliatory note. “Peace comes only through strength and cooperation built on trust,” he wrote, saying Ukraine remained ready to work “constructively, honestly and toward tangible results”.