Russia said on Wednesday that it was ready in principle to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the United States, as missiles struck Kyiv overnight and sent residents into shelters.1,3,5
The signal followed a three-hour meeting in St. Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US envoy Steve Witkoff, with the US president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joining remotely. At the start of the meeting, Putin announced the release of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen who had been held in Russia for more than four years. Witkoff thanked Putin and called him a humanitarian. "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian -- you are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that," Witkoff said. President Donald Trump said after the meeting that it was "the closest we've been" to ending the war.1,4,5
The Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Russia was ready to return to the trilateral format. Reports differed on the timing. In Ushakov's words as quoted by Axios, "Our president informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, ready to resume the aforementioned trilateral negotiations on the main topic around the 10th of November." France 24 reported that talks could resume in mid-November, after the US midterm elections, with the Kremlin wanting them to focus on post-war security. Ushakov also said the talks could take place in Abu Dhabi.1,5
Ushakov said Witkoff had briefed Putin on the outcome of the Oslo talks, which Ukrainian and European officials attended, but he was dismissive of the proposals. "There wasn't really much substance in them," he said, according to France 24. Axios quoted him saying, "The Oslo talks didn't contain much that was useful in the context of resolving the Ukrainian crisis." Witkoff described the discussions with Putin as "constructive" in a social media post, adding that "there is still important work left to do." Discussions would continue between the US, Ukraine and Russia at the technical level, he said.1,5
A White House official told The Daily Wire that the proposal for a meeting at the technical level had been accepted by both sides. "Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner proposed a trilateral meeting at the technical level between the US, Russia, and Ukraine," the official said. "This was accepted by the Ukrainians in Oslo yesterday and by the Russians in St. Petersburg today." The official said the discussions with Putin also covered a post-war economic and prosperity plan and European security arrangements. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev also attended the meeting, the official said.4,5
The Witkoff meeting with Putin came a day after Witkoff and Kushner met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, a session that Norway, Finland and several European countries also attended. The Oslo talks were aimed at smoothing over a rift between Trump and Zelensky, France 24 reported. Zelensky has said the next step should be a trilateral meeting including himself, Putin and Trump, a format Russia has so far rejected. Speaking to journalists, he said Kyiv also backed resuming trilateral talks. "The American side is proposing to organise this meeting as soon as possible. We are in favour of it," he said.1,5
Hours after the talks, missiles struck Kyiv throughout the night, authorities said early Thursday. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on social media that the strikes had wounded six people in the capital, four of whom needed hospitalisation. Ukraine's Air Force warned of "more ballistic missiles towards Kyiv" and told residents to stay in shelters. Russian authorities said they had intercepted drones during the night, including more than 160 flying toward Moscow.1
Kyiv said Russian attacks had killed at least four people on Wednesday, including two in the capital and an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region. Separately, Russian occupation authorities in the Luhansk region said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company had killed two people. Russia has continued to strike Ukrainian cities ahead of winter, France 24 reported.1
Hubbard, a retired English teacher in his 70s, had always denied charges that he was a mercenary fighting for Ukraine, France 24 reported. Axios said he was 74 and had been seized by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine in April 2022. Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return - an unprecedented situation for Russia." Senators John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, and Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, criticised Witkoff's comment about Putin. Cornyn wrote on X: "No. Putin is stone cold killer."4,5
The diplomacy has come alongside a separate dispute over sanctions. Trump delayed the imposition of sanctions on Russia's war machine, a decision he defended on Wednesday as necessary to secure Hubbard's release. "If you would've put those sanctions on... you could forget about him. You'd never see him again," Trump told reporters at the White House. In recent days, Trump had also trumpeted what he said was a deal for Russia to sell diesel, a move meant to reduce fuel prices that had risen after his Iran war. The diesel deal sparked outrage in Kyiv and across Europe, France 24 reported.1
Trump returned to power in January 2025 promising to end the war within 24 hours. More than a year of US-led talks has not produced a breakthrough, and tens of thousands of people have been killed, France 24 reported. Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has consistently rejected face-to-face talks with Zelensky and has insisted that Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine.1
Ushakov said a summit between Putin, Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping, was being prepared in Shenzhen for next month, calling it "the first such meeting in history." Axios reported that Putin told Witkoff he wanted to discuss a possible meeting with Trump in China in mid-November. Putin also told Witkoff he wanted to discuss whether Russia could mediate between the United States and Iran.1,5
For now, the timing and format of the next round of talks remain unsettled, and the reports offer no confirmed date for a trilateral meeting. Witkoff's remarks left the question open, with the envoy saying that work remained to be done.1,5
