Kyiv rejects easing sanctions

Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an interview from Kyiv on Thursday, 22 October, that the friction with Washington is not personal. He said his position on Vladimir Putin is clear and that he opposes lifting any sanctions on Russia. He argued that Putin has no intention of ending the war, and he urged partners not to give the Kremlin room to grow stronger.

“I believe that if we lift sanctions, we will make him stronger.”

Zelensky also said European allies had supplied Ukraine with some air defence missiles, but not enough to protect the country. He asked partners for more capable interceptors. He said Ukraine would never recognise occupied territories as Russian, although he accepted the idea of freezing the current front line to create room for a ceasefire and talks.

Witkoff's talks and the prisoner release

US envoy Steve Witkoff met Zelensky in Norway on Tuesday, 20 October, and on Wednesday, 21 October, held three hours of talks with Putin in St Petersburg. According to Reuters, as cited by HotNews.ro, it was the ninth face-to-face meeting between Witkoff and the Russian president. Witkoff described Putin as a 'humanitarian' for freeing Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American prisoner whom Moscow had accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin had agreed to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine.

Trump defended the approach, saying tougher sanctions would have kept Hubbard in prison for 25 years. He argued that sanctions should not be imposed during delicate talks.

“When you are close to a deal and in delicate negotiations, you do not impose sanctions.”

Trump had earlier announced a deal to buy Russian fuel, and he later suspended enforcement of some sanctions. That move drew criticism, including from members of his own party. Zelensky has said Trump is on the wrong side of history, and he has also said Trump could bring Putin to the negotiating table if he spoke to him in the tone he uses with Zelensky.

Starlink access and the Musk call

Trump said Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access to Starlink, but he declined to say whether he had asked Musk to do so. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, 22 October, citing US and Ukrainian officials, that Trump had phoned Musk and asked him to lift the limits. Trump said it did not matter who made the call, because the service had been restored. Zelensky says speeds are still capped, which limits Ukraine's ability to intercept fast Russian drones, and that military intelligence sharing remains restricted. Trump denied being involved in the decision to slow the service. Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that decisions on Ukraine's Starlink access belong to SpaceX, which operates the service, and to Musk, not the White House.

Kasparov warns against a deal

Garry Kasparov, the Russian opposition leader and former world chess champion, criticised proposals to ease sanctions in return for the release of Russian political prisoners. In an interview with the independent Russian broadcaster TV Rain (Dozhd), he argued that such a swap would strengthen Putin's war machine and lead to more deaths in Ukraine. He said lower sanctions would reduce Russia's costs for Western components used in missiles and drones, even when they reach Moscow through intermediaries. He also linked oil and gas sanctions to Russia's revenue, saying more money would let the war machine kill more people in Ukraine.

“The exchange of political prisoners for lifted sanctions means Russia will have a greater capacity to kill Ukrainians.”

The Atlantic reported in September that US envoy John Coale had discussed the idea with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov before presenting it to Trump, who agreed to consider it. Kasparov's comments come as US and Russian diplomatic contacts resume.