US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday morning for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war, a day after holding discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the prime ministers of Norway and Finland in Oslo.
Witkoff was met at Pulkovo Airport by Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, who handles international economic cooperation.
According to reports, Witkoff is expected to present Putin with an updated peace proposal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Jared Kushner, who attended the Oslo talks with Zelenskyy virtually due to illness, is also expected to join the Saint Petersburg meeting remotely.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov tempered expectations ahead of the meeting, saying he "didn't know if any agreement will be reached today," according to sources.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Tuesday's talks between Witkoff and Zelenskyy as "positive," saying the envoy would carry the results of those discussions to the Russian side. "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.
Representatives from the European Union and NATO were present at the Oslo talks. Following the meeting, Zelenskyy said "very, very important" intelligence from the US had been restored.
Zelenskyy has accused Washington of suspending crucial intelligence sharing and of slowing down Starshield, the military-grade satellite internet service developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is critical for Ukraine's battlefield operations. Rubio dismissed the accusations, saying Trump had "nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield." Musk has said such decisions can only be made by the US military and the president. Sources reported that Musk ordered the slowdown, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter.
Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Zelenskyy in recent weeks and suggested that someone else should negotiate on Kyiv's behalf, signalling a new low in their relationship.
A handful of Republican lawmakers have also spoken out against Trump's approach to Russia. Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska condemned Trump's actions — which include an agreement to purchase Russian diesel fuel and the pausing of sanctions on Moscow — as "absolutely disgraceful." "It really is disgraceful, and the Republicans that I associate with, there's a lot of us, can't stand it," Bacon said. "I think the president's leverage in this Congress is shot."
Last week, Trump waived sanctions on Russia that had been imposed through legislation he signed only the previous month. He subsequently announced a deal with Putin to import diesel fuel, which has grown more expensive for American consumers.
As diplomatic efforts intensified, fighting continued. At least one person was killed and two were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's western Bryansk region on Wednesday, according to the regional governor. The Ukrainian Emergency Service reported that two people were killed in a Russian attack on a high-rise building in the Sviatoshinsky district of Kyiv.
Ukraine's anti-corruption police said detectives were searching the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine and the home of one of the central bank's employees. The police stated that no one had been detained or issued a suspicion notice. The central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
