Witkoff urges Putin to resume Ukraine talks as Russia frees Stephen Hubbard

Witkoff presses Putin to restart talks

On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, US special envoy Steve Witkoff asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, which have been stalled for months since the war in the Persian Gulf broke out. Europa Press described a visit to Moscow, while AP and Adnkronos placed the meeting in St Petersburg. Witkoff called his Oslo meetings with Volodimir Zelenski and European leaders productive and said there was some momentum. He also brought documents setting out ideas and elements for a peace agreement and asked Putin to consider them, and Putin in turn praised Trump's attention to ending the war.

Zelenski open to freezing the front line

Zelenski told Fox News that the conflict should be frozen along the current front line, which he called the real way to end the war. Asked whether he would accept a deal now, when Ukraine has lost about 20% of its territory, he said freezing the fighting was the minimum Ukraine needs from Russia. He added that Ukraine would then seek security guarantees from the United States and European partners, and that US guarantees must be part of any agreement. He said partners should also help rebuild the country alongside 9.5 million Ukrainians who lost their homes and are now abroad. He praised Trump's idea of a ceasefire and said any deal must pass through the Ukrainian parliament.

Hubbard released after more than four years

Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former Michigan teacher, on Wednesday, 21 October, after more than four years in custody. He was convicted in 2024 after a closed-door trial and sentenced to almost seven years. Prosecutors said he signed a contract with the Ukrainian army after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and that he fought alongside Ukrainian forces until he was captured two months later. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had asked Putin in a phone call in the week of 12 October to release Hubbard, and that, unlike earlier releases, the United States had not handed anyone over in return. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US side had raised the matter for some time and that Putin decided on humanitarian grounds. AP reported that Witkoff thanked Putin, telling him Hubbard was going home to his family.

Oslo, Starlink and air defence

Zelenski said he would not wait for Witkoff to return to Oslo and would go back to Ukraine instead. He expected Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to meet Witkoff and to relay Putin's response, saying the two sides remain in constant contact. Witkoff had met Zelenski in Oslo on Tuesday, 20 October, where Zelenski presented Ukraine's peace proposals, including security guarantees after the war and future relations with NATO. Zelenski also met Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norway's defence minister, Tore Sandvik. He said Ukraine expects a new delivery of NASAMS air-defence systems in November 2026. On Starlink, which Ukraine relies on for military communications, Zelenski said some limitations remain, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio had assured him they would be fixed as soon as possible. He said intelligence flows already work and tied his recent disagreements with Trump in the media to the Starlink problems.

Putin backs a Trump and Xi meeting in China

Putin defended a possible meeting with Trump and Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, which is scheduled for 18 and 19 November 2026. He said Ukraine and the Persian Gulf would be central to his talks with Witkoff. Putin also offered to help end the war in Iran, pointing to his decades-long relationship with Tehran and saying Russia would act if it could help. US diplomacy defended the possible summit against criticism from Ukraine.