US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in St Petersburg, where he was met at Pulkovo airport by Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's special representative, Meduza reported, citing the Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti. Witkoff was expected to meet Putin in the city, and Meduza reported that Jared Kushner, another of Donald Trump's negotiators, was expected to join by video link.
Meduza, citing Axios, reported that Witkoff would present Putin with an updated plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. A US official told Axios, as relayed by The Moscow Times, that Witkoff hoped to present ideas developed in close consultation with Ukraine and European partners, and that the next step was to test whether that work could form the basis for serious negotiations with Russia.
The trip follows a meeting in Oslo on 20 October between Trump's negotiators, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European representatives. Witkoff attended in person, while Kushner took part remotely because he had the flu. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also joined.
Støre said afterwards that Witkoff would discuss with Putin proposals prepared by European and American colleagues and might prepare the ground for a meeting at the level of leaders. He did not disclose the substance of the proposals, but said the talks covered Ukraine's security, a post-war prosperity plan, territories and sanctions, and the wider European security architecture. Meduza also relayed a Politico report that Witkoff would offer Putin direct talks with Trump and Zelensky; Politico did not give an exact Støre quote on that point.
Zelensky said one important idea was moving toward a potential three-way meeting of leaders. "Steve is going to Russia tomorrow. Let's see what Putin says," he added. Trump, asked whether Putin and Zelensky needed to be in the same room to reach a peace deal, said it depended on circumstances, that they did not necessarily have to be, and that it was hard for them to be in one room.
Moscow signalled it welcomed the visit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped a meeting could be arranged very soon so that Witkoff could brief Putin on his contacts with the Ukrainians and Europeans. He described such meetings as important, timely and substantive, and said the Kremlin greatly appreciated the mediation efforts of American negotiators.
A prisoner release may also be on the table. The New York Times, as relayed by Meduza and The Moscow Times, reported that Witkoff and Kushner planned to meet Putin on 21 October and would seek the release of a long-detained American, noting that Stephen Hubbard is the only American the US State Department classifies as wrongfully detained in Russia. The Financial Times also reported that Witkoff would press for Hubbard's release. Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed talks with Washington on a possible prisoner release without giving details, and Trump, saying he and Putin had discussed Hubbard, told reporters to remember the question a couple of days from now.
Meduza reported that Hubbard was sentenced by a Russian court in October 2024 to six years and 10 months in a general-regime penal colony on a mercenary charge. Investigators alleged that he joined the territorial defence of Izium in February 2022 and was captured that April.
Accounts of the Oslo talks varied. A US administration source told BBC Russian that they were productive and constructive, with Ukraine putting forward new ideas. But Axios sources said Kushner pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries, and that Washington hopes Putin will be more open to compromise after a diesel deal with the US. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to refrain from striking sensitive parts of Russia's energy sector if Russia stopped hitting Ukraine's, adding that Putin had said no.
The gaps remain wide. The Moscow Times reported that Putin continues to demand Ukraine's full withdrawal from the Donetsk region as a precondition for any ceasefire, which Kyiv rejects, and cited a New York Times report that Trump is seeking to force a deal on Zelensky, even one largely on Russia's terms. Trump himself said Ukraine has to want to settle the war, describing Russia as a big machine that keeps grinding forward.