Zelensky offers to freeze the front line

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News that he is ready to freeze the war along the current front line, which he called a realistic route to ending the conflict. He said a ceasefire should be the starting point, followed by talks on security guarantees from the United States, because peace must rest on security. Zelensky also insisted that Ukraine take part in every meeting on the war with Russia and on peace negotiations, and that European states join the talks as well. He thanked Washington for restoring intelligence sharing and expressed hope that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield satellite services would be lifted quickly.

Oslo talks and the US position

Zelensky met the US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, 20 October, and described the meeting as constructive, adding that Kyiv was ready for further diplomatic steps. The talks were hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and included representatives of the European Union and NATO. Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of President Donald Trump, took part remotely. The agenda covered security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, a postwar economic recovery plan and a wider European security architecture. A US official cited by Reuters and Axios said Ukraine had presented new ideas and proposals that were discussed in detail, and that the sides had made significant progress toward a coordinated approach to Russia. At a press conference that day, Zelensky said the proposals should be passed to Moscow and called for a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, the United States and Russia.

Witkoff's trip to Russia and Putin's proposal

Witkoff flew on from Oslo to Russia and on Wednesday, 21 October, met Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters citing Russian media. Reports differed on the venue, with some placing the talks in Moscow and others in Saint Petersburg. Putin proposed a meeting with Trump in China, thanked the US president for his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and suggested talks on restoring economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington. The Kremlin had earlier raised the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, which is due in November in China. Witkoff reportedly said there were grounds for a ceasefire in Ukraine and hoped Putin would consider resuming trilateral talks among Russia, the United States and Ukraine. The Kremlin said it would study the US proposals but added that much depended on Ukraine.

Release of Stephen Hubbard

During the meeting, Putin announced that Stephen Hubbard had been freed and was at Pulkovo airport in Saint Petersburg. Hubbard, 74, is a retired teacher from the US state of Michigan who was detained in Izium, Ukraine, in April 2022. In October 2024 he was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for taking part in fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary. Russian state media reported that Hubbard pleaded guilty, but his US lawyer, Martin De Luca, said he denied the charges and maintained that he did not belong to any military unit. The Biden administration had officially recognized him as wrongfully detained, and at the time of his release he was the only American held in Russia to hold that status, according to Reuters.

What comes next

Zelensky has again proposed a summit at which he would meet Putin with Trump present, arguing that such a meeting could settle the most sensitive issues. He said that if a Trump, Putin and Xi summit touched on Ukraine, Ukraine would have to take part. The Kremlin's review of the US proposals and the APEC summit in November in China are the next checkpoints in the process. Witkoff's talks with Putin also involved Kushner joining remotely, according to one report.