Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo to discuss the war in Ukraine, as tensions between Kyiv and Washington grow over efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion.
Witkoff and Jared Kushner, another US envoy involved in the discussions, are expected to take part in the meetings. According to the Norwegian government, Witkoff will travel to Oslo, while Kushner, who is reportedly ill, will participate by video link.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Ukraine had requested the participation of the two US representatives. Zelensky is also scheduled to meet Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s king, and visit the Norwegian parliament.
The Norwegian government said the meetings aim to give diplomatic efforts a more constructive direction.
Trump questions Zelensky’s role in negotiations
The Oslo meetings come amid growing friction between US President Donald Trump and Zelensky. Trump recently suggested that someone else should negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf, raising further questions about Washington’s approach to ending the war.
“Honestly, I think it’s time for someone else to negotiate for Ukraine,” Trump said.
His remarks have added to concerns in Kyiv over US decisions that Zelensky believes could benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin. In recent weeks, Trump has announced an arrangement encouraging Russian diesel exports and temporarily lifted sanctions that had been expected to take effect under legislation he signed the previous month.
Trump also said on October 19 that he was open to a trilateral meeting with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s APEC summit in China.
He said the main focus would be nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament rather than the war in Ukraine. Trump also argued that Russia had behaved relatively well in the conflict, saying it had “not done much” in relation to Ukraine.
Zelensky discusses air defence and satellite communications with Rubio
Before travelling to Oslo, Zelensky said he had held a “substantive” and “constructive” conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to the Ukrainian president, they discussed missiles designed to intercept ballistic missiles, early-warning systems for Russian ballistic missile attacks, and issues involving the Starlink and Starshield satellite communications systems.
Zelensky thanked Rubio for his willingness to help and what he described as his clear position.
Russian attacks continue across Ukraine
Meanwhile, Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine. At least three people were reported killed in the Kyiv region, with several others injured, according to regional officials cited in the report.
Emergency crews were responding to a fire at a production and storage facility outside the Ukrainian capital when the bodies of victims were found, Kyiv regional military governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
In a separate incident, a Russian drone reportedly struck near the Kyiv–Odesa highway, killing three people and injuring four others. Authorities said the casualty figures were still being verified.
Drone attacks were also reported in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil and Lviv regions.
Ukraine’s energy company DTEK said Russian forces had attacked three energy facilities in the Odesa region overnight, leaving more than 30,000 households without electricity.
Separately, Telegram monitoring channels citing local residents reported a fire at a diesel storage facility in Russia’s Tambov region following a reported Ukrainian drone strike on an oil facility. The Russian military said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed 136 Ukrainian drones, including several over Tambov.
