In a St Petersburg meeting that carried the weight of a stalled war, US envoy Steve Witkoff brought Ukrainian and European proposals to Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin answered that they held little of substance. The exchange sits within a long pattern in which diplomacy advances in small, uncertain steps while missiles and drones keep falling on towns and cities. Moscow signals willingness to return to three-way talks after the American midterms, and a prisoner released as a gesture reminds everyone how personal these negotiations can become. For now the war and the search for peace run side
Kremlin Says New Peace Proposals Lack 'Substance' After Witkoff-Putin Meeting in St Petersburg
Russian strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine, including an elderly couple in Kharkiv region, and injured six in Kyiv, while a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly killed two in Luhansk.
"There wasn't really much substance in them."
Mark
The Kremlin called the proposals thin, yet Trump says this is the closest yet. Why such different readings?
Mimi
Ushakov said the new Kyiv and European ideas lacked substance, while Witkoff called the talks constructive. Trump's phrase is a claim, and nothing in the account shows a concrete step toward a deal.
Luke
Right, "closest we've been" is Trump's characterization. What's actually confirmed is that Russia is ready, in principle, to resume trilateral talks in mid-November.
Mark
Why mid-November specifically?
Mimi
It falls after the US midterms. Ushakov tied the timing to that, and he wants the talks centred on postwar security.
Luke
The reporting doesn't say why Moscow prefers that timing. The election link is the context, not a stated motive.
Mark
And the Hubbard release?
Mimi
Putin ordered it while meeting Witkoff. Hubbard is 74 and had been jailed more than four years. Trump says nothing was given in return.
Luke
That's Trump's account. The reading that it's a calculated move to win Trump over is Pjotr Sauer's analysis, not an established fact.
Mark
What about Starlink?
Mimi
Rubio said it's SpaceX's and Musk's call, and the WSJ reported a slowdown ordered by Musk.
Luke
Note the gap: Rubio's comments only suggested restriction. The slowdown comes from one newspaper report, and the piece doesn't confirm it independently.
O Pulso
- The Kremlin dismissed the Oslo proposals from Kyiv and European leaders as lacking real substance, leaving the peace effort without momentum.
- Witkoff's remark calling Putin a humanitarian erupted into criticism at home, even from Republicans, after Putin freed US citizen Stephen Hubbard.
- Trump insists the moment is the closest yet to ending the war, while Moscow holds its position and waits.
- Russian strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine and wounded six in Kyiv, as a Ukrainian drone reportedly killed two in occupied Luhansk.
- Starlink access for Kyiv has become a new point of uncertainty, with Musk's decisions now shaping the battlefield.
- Trilateral talks are pencilled in for mid-November, with technical contacts continuing until then.
In a St Petersburg meeting that carried the weight of a stalled war, US envoy Steve Witkoff brought Ukrainian and European proposals to Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin answered that they held little of substance. The exchange sits within a long pattern in which diplomacy advances in small, uncertain steps while missiles and drones keep falling on towns and cities. Moscow signals willingness to return to three-way talks after the American midterms, and a prisoner released as a gesture reminds everyone how personal these negotiations can become. For now the war and the search for peace run side by side, neither yielding the ground to the other.
On Wednesday in St Petersburg, US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin and presented proposals that Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders had shaped in Oslo the day before. The Kremlin's response was swift and cool. Yuri Ushakov said there was not much substance in them, though he added that Moscow was ready in principle to resume trilateral talks.
The Oslo gathering had been meant to repair a rift between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. Afterward, Zelenskyy said US intelligence sharing on Russian missile strikes had resumed. Russia, however, pointed to mid-November, after the US midterms, as the time for renewed talks, with a focus on postwar security. Witkoff described his conversation as constructive but unfinished. Trump still called it the closest the sides had come to ending the war.
The meeting also produced a human gesture. Putin agreed to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher held for more than four years in Russia. Witkoff's praise of Putin as a humanitarian drew sharp criticism at home, and Trump brushed it aside. Pjotr Sauer, writing for the Guardian, read the release as a calculated move that pulled Trump toward Moscow's view on Ukraine.
The war continued throughout. Russian strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine, including an elderly couple in Kharkiv region, and injured six in Kyiv. Across the line, a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly killed two in Luhansk. Starlink, meanwhile, has become another uncertain front, as reports suggest Elon Musk had slowed the military version Ukraine depends on.
For now, technical contacts continue, and the next real marker is mid-November.
On Wednesday in St Petersburg, US envoy Steve Witkoff sat down with Vladimir Putin and laid out a set of proposals that Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders had worked on in Oslo only a day earlier. The Kremlin's verdict came quickly. Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Witkoff had described "some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv," but that "there wasn't really much substance in them."
The Oslo meeting had its own purpose. It was meant to smooth over a bitter rift between the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump. After it, Zelenskyy said the US had resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv about Russian missile strikes. Zelenskyy also said Kyiv backed resuming trilateral talks as soon as possible.
Russia's position on timing was more guarded. Ushakov said Moscow was "in principle, ready to resume" the trilateral talks in mid-November, after the crucial US midterm elections, and wanted them to concentrate on postwar security. Witkoff called his conversation with Putin "constructive" but said "there is still important work left to do." Discussions among the US, Ukraine and Russia will continue at the technical level in the meantime. Trump, despite the cool reception from Moscow, claimed it was "the closest we've been" to ending the war.
At home, Witkoff drew sharp criticism for calling Putin a "humanitarian." He said it after Putin agreed to free Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen. Republican senator Thom Tillis wrote on X: "WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of 'humanitarian'." Trump brushed the remark aside, saying "I wouldn't say anything one way or the other." Vice-president JD Vance defended Witkoff: "I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage."
Hubbard is 74, a former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Trump had previously asked Putin to free him. Trump said on social media that the US, "out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return," calling it "an unprecedented situation for Russia" and adding that no swap was necessary. Writing for the Guardian, Pjotr Sauer read the release as a calculated Moscow move: a way to pull Trump closer to Putin's position on Ukraine while handing him a diplomatic win before the midterms.
The war went on through all of this. Missiles struck Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, according to a Reuters witness, after an evening Russian airstrike that injured six people and damaged homes, a petrol station and transport equipment. Kyiv officials said Russian strikes killed at least four people, two of them in the capital and an elderly couple in the eastern Kharkiv region. Russian occupation authorities in Luhansk said a Ukrainian drone strike on a phone company killed two people. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 630 drones were launched toward the Moscow region overnight, wounding two people. He said most were destroyed by air defences, and 163 had been approaching the capital.
Starlink added another strand. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said decisions on Ukraine's access were up to SpaceX and Elon Musk, not the White House. His comments suggested Musk may have restricted Kyiv's access. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk had ordered a slowdown of the military-grade Starlink version Ukraine relies on to defend against Russian missile attacks.
The next marker is mid-November, when trilateral talks could resume after the US midterms. Until then, technical-level contacts continue, and so do the strikes.
Citações Notáveis
There wasn't really much substance in them.— Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin aide
There is still important work left to do.— Steve Witkoff, US envoy
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Politics & Governance