Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. Witkoff also held constructive talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Oslo, Norway.
During the Oslo meeting, Zelenskiy presented new proposals and ideas to representatives from NATO, Europe, and the leaders of Norway and Finland. The discussions in Norway covered a post-war economic plan, a broader European security architecture, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy specifically discussed security guarantees that resemble Article 5. Jonas Gahr Stoere described the Oslo meeting as good and constructive.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said, "I think the (peace) process is back on track." Participants made meaningful progress towards a coordinated approach to engaging Russia.
Donald Trump pushed Kyiv to make a deal to stop the fighting, stating it was time for Ukraine to end the war. Trump called on Ukraine to make a deal to settle the war on Tuesday, remarking, "Ukraine has to want to settle this war."
The US under Trump stopped providing weapons directly to Ukraine. The US allows European countries to buy US weaponry on Kyiv's behalf under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not approve Ukraine's latest requests for Patriot interceptors. Hegseth said, "Certainly, with things like interceptors, we want to make sure our guys have the most possible as well."
Marco Rubio stated, "There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine." Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel 10 days ago and issued a broad waiver of tougher sanctions on Russia at the weekend.
Ukraine held back from hitting Russian oil refineries last week in deference to Trump's request. Trump suggested Russia has the upper hand in the fighting and stated the midterm elections are on November 3.
Russia struck energy facilities in seven Ukrainian regions overnight and bombarded cities in western Ukraine. Russian drones struck an energy facility in Kyiv on Tuesday.
