Vladimir Putin greets Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, St. Petersburg, Russia, October 21, 2026
EA on DW News and Talk TV: Playing Trump, Kremlin Rebuffs His Envoy Witkoff
EA-Ukraine VideoCasts: Donald Trump’s Betrayal and Alliance with Putin
Wednesday’s Coverage: After Talks With Zelensky, Trump Envoy Witkoff Meets Putin
UPDATE 1055 GMT:
A Ukrainian journalist posts from Kyiv:
When the first four ballistic missiles struck near our home, I was in the hallway of our apartment building with my two children, aged 5 and 1.
During a brief pause, we ran for the basement, but the blast wave had jammed the entrance door shut.
Those were the most terrifying minutes of my life.
This is what Putin’s “humanity” looks like.— Nastya Stanko (@StankoNastya) October 22, 2026
UPDATE 0927 GMT:
At least nine civilians were murdered and 57 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight.
Russia attacked with 210 drones, 110 of them jet-powered, and Iskander-M, S-400, Zircon, and Onyx missiles. Air defenses downed 181 drones, including 87 jet-powered UAVs, but strikes were recorded at 32 locations.
Fatalities were recorded in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions.
UPDATE 0855 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Russia’s overnight attacks on 12 regions, including three waves with a total of 21 ballistic missiles fired on Kyiv.
Zelensky said two civilians were murdered and 34 injured, including five children. He cited damaged to a monastery, residential buildings, energy facilities, infrastructure at a railway station and the metro, shopping malls, and businesses.
Reworking the praise of Vladimir Putin by Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, the President said of the Kremlin’s “humanitarians”:
Almost immediately after another round of talks, Russia launched a pointed attack. This means there has been no real change in its attitude toward everything that is happening. It is important to keep trying to find the right solutions to end this war. But when Russia responds to negotiations with ballistic missiles, real pressure on Russia is needed to bring about different steps – steps toward ending the killing. Stronger air defenses and the rapid delivery of missiles, the ability to destroy ballistic missile launchers, sanctions over the war – all of this must be in place.
I am grateful to everyone who sees the situation for what it is and acknowledges the reality. The aggressor deserves to be treated accordingly. Ukraine deserves support. People’s lives deserve protection.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Putting further pressure on Donald Trump, the Kremlin has rejected the proposals brought by his envoy Steve Witkoff to end Russia’s 56-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Even as Witkoff was meeting Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov was briefing journalists, “He mentioned some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv…but there wasn’t really much substance in them.”
The Kremlin was careful not to rule out completely the notion of Ukraine-Russia talks brokered by the US. “Our President informed Steve Witkoff that we are, in principle, ready to resume the mentioned talks.”
Russia’s Interfax news agency said trilateral talks could take place in Abu Dhabi in the UAE in mid-November.
Before the discussions, the Kremlin continued its manipulation of Witkoff and Trump with the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard, 74. The political prisoner was seized by Russian forces on the frontline in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in April 2022.
In the press appearance before the closed-door talks, real estate developer Witkoff gushed that Putin — wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes — was a “great humanitarian”.
The envoy ignored the Kremlin’s rejection in his later statement. He said talks were “constructive” but “there is still important work left to do”. Discussions will continue between the US, Ukraine, and Russia at the technical level.
Russia Returns to Strikes on Ukraine’s Civilians
The Russians sent another signal overnight with more strikes on Kyiv, wounding 21 people. They damaged subway infrastructure on the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro River, restricting traffic.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a woman was murdered and four people by the Russians. A drone hit energy infrastructure in the Kremenchuk area in the Poltava region in central Ukraine.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted:
Overnight, Kyiv residents heard what Russian "humanism" truly sounds like: a brutal attack with dozens of ballistic missiles striking energy infrastructure, medical facilities, shopping centers, and residential areas. Other cities across Ukraine came under attack as well. Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war. Only strength will.
— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) October 22, 2026
