Oslo meeting set for Tuesday

Witkoff is due in Oslo on Tuesday, 20 October, to hold talks with Zelensky and European representatives, according to a US official cited by Axios. Norway's government said Zelensky had asked Norway and Finland to host a meeting as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts, at what it called a critical moment for Ukraine. According to the Norwegian statement, Zelensky is to confer with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Representatives of the E4 group (the UK, France, Germany and Poland) and officials from the EU and NATO are also expected, the US official said. Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported that the schedule is provisional and could change.

Two tracks for a peace proposal

The US official described two parallel tracks. The first covers Ukraine's future, including credible security guarantees, European integration and a postwar economic framework that addresses Ukraine's financial needs. The second aims at lasting peace through a comprehensive proposal to Russia that would end the war and set up a new security architecture between Russia and Europe. American, Ukrainian and European representatives worked together over the past week to prepare these proposals, the official said. The Oslo meetings build on earlier discussions at Witkoff's Miami-area club, Shell Bay, where Zelensky agreed to review and advance a series of proposals. Axios quoted the official as saying the next step is to test whether this work can serve as the basis for serious negotiations with Russia.

Kushner's absence and the Moscow leg

Jared Kushner, who usually accompanies Witkoff, has the flu and will not attend the Oslo meeting in person. He is expected to join virtually, according to Axios and La Razón. A Reuters report published on the evening of 19 October had included Kushner among the travellers to Norway, so that plan has changed. After Oslo, Witkoff plans to travel to Moscow, where he hopes to meet Vladimir Putin and present ideas developed with Ukraine and European partners. Reuters' sources described the Moscow plans as preliminary, and US authorities had not commented on them officially.

Stephen Hubbard and the wider war

Witkoff is also expected to press for the release of Stephen Hubbard, whom the US says has been wrongfully detained in Russia. Reuters described Hubbard as a 73-year-old who was convicted in Russia of mercenary activity and of serving in the Ukrainian armed forces. Overnight, a Russian airstrike in the Kyiv region killed three people and injured six, according to local authorities cited by Spiegel. The strike hit a production and storage building, which caught fire, and rescue services said the blaze was later extinguished. Russia's military separately claimed successful attacks on logistics centres and cargo ships in Ukraine.

Friction between Washington and Kyiv

The talks come amid a sharpening verbal dispute between Trump and Zelensky, who have accused each other of obstructing a solution in recent days. Zelensky said on 19 October that negotiators from Ukraine and the US could meet in Norway in the coming days, without saying whether he would take part himself. He had spoken by phone with Witkoff and Kushner on 18 October. The US official said Witkoff and Kushner also spoke with Zelensky on Sunday to review progress and discuss next steps.