L to R: Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky; and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo, Norway, October 20, 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCasts: Donald Trump’s Betrayal and Alliance with Putin
Tuesday’s Coverage: Trump — “Russia Has Been Fine. They Haven’t Been Doing Much”
UPDATE 1500 GMT:
At least nine civilians have been murdered and 45 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
In Kyiv city, at least two people were killed and two injured when a Russian drone set afire a 24-story apartment building.
In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, two people were slain and 11 wounded, including two children.
In the Donetsk region in the east, four civilians were murdered and eight injured.
In and near Zaporizhzhia city in the southeast, one person was killed and six wounded.
Casualties were also reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kherson, and Chernihiv regions.
UPDATE 1447 GMT:
The Kremlin has dismissed the proposals of Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, as “lacking substance”.
Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, “He mentioned some new aspects in the approaches of the Europeans and Kyiv…but there wasn’t really much substance in them”.
However, 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,” Ushakov said.
He blustered, “The Ukrainian conflict is heading toward its conclusion.”
Russia’s Interfax news agency said trilateral talks could take place in Abu Dhabi in the UAE in mid-November.
UPDATE 1058 GMT:
The Kremlin has reiterated its maximum demand amid Vladimir Putin’s talks with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.
A Kremlin official said that Russia will analyze Witkoff’s proposals, but “much depends on Ukraine”: ““If Ukraine does not make necessary decisions, situation for them will be worse.”
UPDATE 0940 GMT:
According to Russian State media, Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, that he is interested in restoring economic cooperation with the US.
The Kremlin has dangled deals worth tens of billions of dollars in front of Witkoff and fellow envoy Jared Kushner. The manipulation may have spurred Donald Trump’s announcement of the purchase of Russian diesel fuel, praised by Putin today.
Witkoff said he hoped Putin would consider resuming “technical discussions” with the US and Ukraine. He said his Oslo meeting on Tuesday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders was productive, with “a foundation in place to move toward a ceasefire”.
UPDATE 0940 GMT:
As anticipated, Vladimir Putin has announced the release of 74-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard during a meeting with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
Hubbard was at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. Witkoff praised Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, as a “humanitarian” for the release.
Hubbard was reportedly seized by the Russian military, as he served with Ukraine defense forces, in the Donetsk region in the east of the country in 2022.
The Kremlin has used the release of US political prisoners to manipulate Witkoff in talks, beginning with teacher Marc Fogel in February 2025.
UPDATE 0925 GMT:
Ahead of today’s meetings with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has maintained Moscow’s maximum demands for surrender of territory and a weakened Ukraine.
Russia will see what Witkoff proposes, but there will be no political concessions by the Russian side.
Steve Witkoff’s in St Petersburg to meet President Putin: what are this morning’s Russian newspapers saying about the visit? Plus, an interesting editorial…with a warning for the Russian authorities. #ReadingRussia https://t.co/PSdAYbT07Q
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) October 21, 2026
UPDATE 0811 GMT:
After its aborted drone detonation at Leipzig Airport, a Kremlin official contacted his German counterpart to warn of further attacks, sources have told The Wall Street Journal.
In August, a member of airport knocked down the drone before it could detonate next to a Ukrainian cargo plane. German authorities later said there were several UAVs, officially accusing Russia of the operation.
Citing US intelligence data, European officials said the Kremlin’s frustration grew this summer over stalled frontlines and Ukraine’s refusal to capitulate to its demands. Vladimir Putin personally ordered the intensification of sabotage and covert operations against NATO countries.
After his trip to Moscow, CIA Director John Ratcliffe informed his colleagues in European intelligence agencies and several politicians about Moscow’s escalation against their countries.
Since then, there have been arson attacks at drone manufacturing facilities in Estonia and Poland; a thwarted arson attack in Slovakia on a Ukrainian drone manufacturing plant; and sabotage of Starlink ground stations in Poland, Lithuania, and Bulgaria.
UPDATE 0703 GMT:
An 81-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man have been murdered during Russian drone attacks on the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.
The Russians struck the village of Korotych overnight. Thirteen private houses, a vehicle, and an outbuilding were damaged.
In Kremenchuk in the Poltava region in central Ukraine, a Russian drone set afire a university building. Two people were wounded, including a 16-year-old.
Drone attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday night damaged a hospital and another medical facility, injuring 12 people.
The Russians struck the operating room of the Strazheska Institute of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, injuring one patient.
The Institute was also hit last year.
A man was murdered and another person injured in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
Air defenses intercepted 150 of 186 drones, 63 of which were jet-powered. Strikes were recorded at 27 locations.
UPDATE 0651 GMT:
NATO is deploying additional military assets to the Black Sea amid Russia’s attacks on merchant shipping.
On Tuesday, Russia’s military said it struck three cargo vessels in Ukraine’s port of Reni and two other cargo vessels en route to Odesa.
The Russians are trying to break Ukraine’s grain exports with the attacks on ports and shipping. In recent weeks, the assaults have expanded into Bulgarian and Romanian territorial waters.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said:
NATO has already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank, including with counter-drone capabilities. NATO will be sending additional assets to the region, including support for surveillance, reconnaissance, and forensics.
The deployment will include maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, drones and intelligence personnel.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, will meet Vladimir Putin and his top aide Kirill Dmitriev in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, after talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Norway.
A US official said Tuesday’s discussions were “constructive”, as Ukraine brought new ideas and proposals. The talks included Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Trump’s other envoy, son-in-law Jared Kushner, participated virtually.
The US official cited “meaningful progress” toward a coordinated approach to engaging Russia. He said “key elements of a comprehensive peace framework” include security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic plan, and a broader European security architecture. Witkoff will aim to “create a pathway toward direct trilateral and broader multi-lateral negotiations”.
Zelensky said at a press conference, which Witkoff did not attend:
We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace. And we are united with our European partners in this effort, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians.
One of the important ideas is to move to a trilateral meeting of the leaders [Zelensky, Trump, and Putin], to address the issues that only the leaders can do.
The President said that, in the Kremlin, Witkoff will present proposals on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine based on NATO’s Article 5 for collective defense.
He added, “I’m thankful to the American side for underlining again that they have to be strong.”
Stubb said, “We discussed and found key elements on security, and we discussed and found key elements on the economy.” Despite “a lot of noise in the public space”, negotiations were advancing well “on the technical level”.
Zelensky noted:
Ukraine immediately supported American proposal for an energy ceasefire. But Russia responded by continuing its attacks. We offered different options. We are ready not to hit sensitive parts of Russia’s energy sector if Russia stops hitting ours. Putin said no. But we’re working to find a solution….
Steve is going to Russia tomorrow. Let’s see what Putin has to say.
Zelensky cited his “positive” phone discussion with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day about Starlink, ballistic missile interceptors, and intelligence sharing.
He said early-warning intelligence, cut off last week amid Russian missile and drone strikes, was “now working” amid “positive signals from the American side”.
Musk and Trump Discussed Cutoff of Starlink/Starshield to Ukraine
Elon Musk and Donald Trump discussed last week’s restrictions of Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink, to Ukraine.
US officials and people familiar with the matter said Musk ordered the slowdown, affecting Ukraine’s frontline operations and air defenses.
Musk and Trump discussed the decision in calls before and just after the slowdown was revealed by Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky, last Wednesday. Musk also spoke with other senior Administration officials.
Musk has said that the restriction was ultimately up to Trump. US and Western officials have said the decision came from “within the White House”.
Amid the uproar over the restrictions, SpaceX representatives called White House officials, seeking a unified understanding and message that the company and the Trump Administration had coordinated ahead of Musk’s decision.
Ukraine’s top diplomat in Washington, Denys Sienik, said on Tuesday that Kyiv is still “waiting for the official response from contacts with the Pentagon and SpaceX at the leaders level to understand what has happened, but also to understand whether the connection has been restored or will be restored”.
