Witkoff in Russia for Putin meeting after ‘positive’ talks with Zelenskyy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Witkoff’s talks with Zelenskyy as ‘positive’, as efforts to end war intensify.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-10-21 07:37查看原文 ↗

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Witkoff’s talks with Zelenskyy as ‘positive’, as efforts to end war intensify.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev greets US special envoy Steve Witkoff upon his arrival at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia [Reuters]

United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in St Petersburg for talks with Russian leaders on the Ukraine war following “positive” talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway.

Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in the city in northwestern Russia, as the US pushes for an end to the war that began more than four and a half years ago with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

list 1 of 3 Zelenskyy to hold talks on Russia-Ukraine war with Witkoff, Europeans

list 2 of 3 Is Russia stalking satellites which help Ukraine from space?

list 3 of 3 ‘I don’t care how it’s done’: Trump pressures Ukraine to cut peace deal

US President Donald Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy in recent weeks and has suggested that someone else should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf. The remarks signalled a new low in their relationship, while Zelenskyy has accused the US of suspending crucial intelligence sharing.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the talks between Witkoff and Zelenskyy as “positive”, adding that the US envoy would share the results with Putin. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the talks with Zelenskyy, but did so virtually because of illness. Kushner is also expected to attend the meeting with Putin remotely.

“He’ll now, armed with those ideas, be able to go to St Petersburg and share them with the Russian side – and let’s see if we can make some progress,” Rubio said.

The prime ministers of Norway and Finland also attended the talks in Oslo. Representatives from the European Union and NATO were present. Following Tuesday’s talks, Zelenskyy said “very, very important” intelligence from the US had been restored.

Zelenskyy has also accused Washington of slowing down the internet service, Starshield, which is crucial for Ukraine’s battlefield operations. Starshield is the military-grade equivalent of Starlink and is also developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Rubio dismissed Zelenskyy’s accusations, saying Trump had “nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield”. Musk disputes this and says such decisions can only be made by the US military and president.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk ordered the slowdown of the service, citing US officials and people familiar ⁠with the matter.

As diplomatic efforts intensify, Russia and Ukraine continue to trade long-range attacks.

At least one person was killed and two were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s western Bryansk ⁠region on Wednesday, Governor Yegor Kovalchuk said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Emergency Service said two people were killed in a Russian attack on a high-rise building in the Sviatoshinsky district of the capital, Kyiv.

国务卿马可·卢比奥称维特科夫与泽连斯基的会谈“积极”，结束战争的努力正在加紧进行。

俄罗斯总统特使基里尔·德米特里耶夫在圣彼得堡普尔科沃机场迎接美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫。[路透社]

美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫抵达圣彼得堡，与俄罗斯领导人就乌克兰战争问题进行会谈。此前，他与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在挪威进行了“积极的”会谈。

维特科夫将于周三在俄罗斯西北部城市会见总统弗拉基米尔·普京，美国正努力推动结束这场始于四年半前的战争，这场战争是由俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰而引发的。

列表1/3：泽连斯基将与维特科夫和欧洲人就俄乌战争举行会谈

问题 2（共 3 题）：俄罗斯是否在跟踪从太空帮助乌克兰的卫星？

列表 3/3 “我不在乎怎么做”：特朗普向乌克兰施压，要求其达成和平协议

近几周来，美国总统特朗普对泽连斯基的不满情绪日益高涨，并暗示应由他人代表基辅进行谈判。此番言论标志着两国关系跌至新低，而泽连斯基则指责美国暂停了至关重要的情报共享。

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥称维特科夫与泽连斯基的会谈“富有成效”，并表示美国特使将把会谈结果转达给普京。特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳也参加了与泽连斯基的会谈，但因病以视频方式参会。预计库什纳也将远程参加与普京的会晤。

“现在，他带着这些想法，可以去圣彼得堡与俄方分享——让我们看看能否取得一些进展，”鲁比奥说。

挪威和芬兰首相也出席了在奥斯陆举行的会谈。欧盟和北约的代表也出席了会谈。泽连斯基在周二的会谈后表示，来自美国的“非常非常重要”的情报已经恢复。

泽连斯基还指责华盛顿方面限制了对乌克兰战场行动至关重要的互联网服务“星盾”（Starshield）的网速。“星盾”是军用版的“星链”（Starlink），同样由埃隆·马斯克的SpaceX公司开发。