Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said US intelligence sharing on deadly Russian missile attacks “works now” after talks with President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The meeting in Oslo came after accusations by Kyiv that Washington was withholding key intelligence – a claim rejected as “scandalous” by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also took part in the talks, said “genuine progress” was made on proposals to achieve peace but gave no details and warned that patience would be needed.
Zelensky and his European allies said it was now up to Russia to respond to the proposals agreed in Oslo when Witkoff arrives in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Witkoff was not present at the joint press conference after Tuesday’s talks in the Norwegian capital. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, another key envoy, took part in the meeting via video link.
A US official later described the talks as “very productive and constructive”, saying there was a “strong alignment at the working level” among the US, Ukraine and Europe on “the next steps”.
The official confirmed that Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin in Russia tomorrow to discuss the proposals and that Kushner will again participate virtually.
Putin is yet to publicly comment on the latest developments, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the Kremlin would listen to what Wiktoff would offer, while ruling out “any political concessions”.
Relations between Ukraine and the US have soured in recent weeks to the extent that Trump has said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president, and most recently “for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine”.
Ahead of next month’s US midterm elections, Trump has also sought to blame Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries for fuel prices which have been rising since the start of the US-led war on Iran.
Speaking after Zelensky’s news conference in Oslo, Trump again told reporters at the White House he wanted Kyiv to “make a deal”. He said Russia would like to “get it done” and it was “time for Ukraine to end this war”.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Russian drone attacks continued on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed – four in Kyiv and the capital region, another four in the eastern Donetsk region, and two in the central city of Dnipro.
