US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “positive” talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia’s TASS news agency reported that Witkoff had landed earlier in the day.
The visit by President Donald Trump’s special envoy was part of efforts to ease a bitter dispute between Zelensky and the US president over the war in Ukraine.
Following his meeting with Witkoff in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, Zelensky thanked Washington on Tuesday for resuming the sharing of US intelligence on Russian strikes.
The constructive exchange followed days of tension between Kyiv and Washington. Trump had reached a diesel-supply agreement with Putin and called for Zelensky’s replacement after Ukraine rejected a halt to attacks on Russian oil refineries.
“We are thankful that intelligence works,” Zelensky told reporters in Oslo, describing the early warnings as “very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians” when ballistic missiles were about to strike.
Speaking during a visit to India, Rubio said Witkoff would travel next to Russia following his discussions with Zelensky.
“He’ll now, armed with those ideas, be able to go to Saint Petersburg and share them with the Russian side – and let’s see if we can make some progress,” Rubio said.
Axios reported that Witkoff was expected to present Putin with an updated proposal for ending the war.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, was also due to participate virtually, according to a US official quoted by AFP.
Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who was also scheduled to meet Putin, was due to meet Witkoff at the airport.
American captive
Trump said on Tuesday that he had asked Putin to release Stephen Hubbard, an American captured by Russian forces in Ukraine several years earlier. It was unclear whether the request would be raised during Wednesday’s meeting.
“I’ve been talking to him at length. I’ve asked him to release him. Let’s see what happens,” Trump told journalists in Washington.
Trump has also continued to pressure Kyiv, saying at the White House that he wanted Zelensky to make a deal with Russia as a harsh winter approaches and Russia intensifies its strikes.
Trump, who called on Zelensky to resign the previous week, also criticized the Ukrainian president for rejecting terms he said he had offered during a televised confrontation in the Oval Office in February 2025.
Ukraine expressed dismay after Trump also waived sanctions against Russia’s war machine.
The dispute intensified after Zelensky accused Trump of weakness and alleged that the United States was deliberately withholding crucial intelligence and delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles.
Ukraine has also reported slower service on Starshield, the US military satellite system it uses for battlefield communications and strikes on Russian-occupied territory.
Trump denied ordering the slowdown after Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX developed the system, said the instruction could only have come from the White House.
Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington had no prior knowledge of the slowdown in SpaceX satellite communications.
“The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk,” Rubio said, speaking in Mumbai.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk had ordered the slowdown in the military-grade version of Starlink.
Missile delivery delays
Witkoff’s meetings followed intense diplomatic efforts in Washington, Kyiv and other Western capitals to ease the dispute.
Zelensky told US senators on Monday that the Pentagon was delaying the delivery of missiles already paid for by European countries while the shipment awaited the signature of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Several European countries were prepared to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were awaiting US approval, he said.
Trump, whose Republican Party is facing difficult midterm elections as fuel prices rise, has accused Zelensky of not doing enough to resolve the conflict.
The US president said he was prepared to meet Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month to discuss denuclearization, adding that the talks could also address the war in Ukraine. His comments fueled fears in Kyiv that the country was being sidelined.
Zelensky insisted on Tuesday that Ukraine must be represented in any discussions about the country’s future.
“If there are issues about Ukraine, our future, it can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations,” he said.