Witkoff Lands in Russia for Putin Talks on Ending the Ukraine War
The U.S. envoy arrived in St. Petersburg after “constructive” talks with Zelensky in Oslo. The meeting with Putin is set for the first half of Wednesday.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
Photos sent to CNN showed Witkoff being greeted at Pulkovo Airport by Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Russian state media TASS said the two men would meet in the first half of Wednesday.
Witkoff flew in straight from a Tuesday summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway. A U.S. official told CNN the two sides made “meaningful progress” there and are now in “strong alignment” on next steps.
The Oslo talks covered security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic plan, and a broader European security framework, the official said.
Zelensky put it this way: “We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians. Let’s see what Putin has to say.”
Kyiv’s red lines have not moved. Ukraine wants guarantees that Russia cannot invade again, and it rejects giving up territory. Russia wants all of the eastern Donbas region, a smaller Ukrainian military, and a pledge that Ukraine never joins NATO.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Oslo meeting “positive” and said Witkoff would now carry the results to the Russian side.
The war ground on overnight. Ukraine’s prime minister said four people were killed in Russian strikes on energy facilities in the Kyiv, Volyn, Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, and two elderly people died in attacks near Kharkiv.
