Witkoff flies to St. Petersburg with “updated plan to end the war”

U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in St. Petersburg for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. He was met at the airport by Russian presidential special envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

This was reported by Russian media.

The visit was confirmed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently in India. According to him, Witkoff brought to Russia “ideas that were discussed with Zelensky.”

According to Axios, citing a U.S. official, Witkoff will present Putin with an “updated plan to end the war in Ukraine.” The document was prepared following talks in Oslo, where Witkoff met with Vladimir Zelensky, the leaders of Norway and Finland, and representatives of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the EU, and NATO.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid clarified on social network X that during the Oslo talks the parties discussed the core elements of a comprehensive peace agreement — long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war economic recovery and prosperity plan, and a broader European security architecture designed to ensure long-term stability.

The U.S. official quoted by Ravid described the talks as “very productive and constructive” and said there had been “significant progress” in aligning on a common approach to engagement with Russia. According to him, the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe now have “a high degree of working-level alignment” on next steps, as well as “a shared desire to find practical solutions to end the war.”

The official also outlined the goal of Witkoff’s upcoming meeting with Putin: to build on the agreements reached with Ukraine and Europe, discuss proposals with the Russian side, and open the way to direct trilateral negotiations and then to a broader international format.

A separate issue at the Oslo talks was the question of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. According to Axios, Jared Kushner, who participated in the talks via video link, “was very direct” and again pressed Trump’s demand that these strikes be halted.

“Jared was very direct,” an Axios source said.

The outlet notes that the parties, including Ukraine and the U.S., “reached a high degree of alignment on next steps,” but does not specify whether this implies Kyiv’s agreement to stop strikes on refineries. Axios points out, however, that after the talks Zelensky said he was prepared to halt such strikes only if Russia took reciprocal steps — meaning he held to his previous position.

Following Witkoff’s meeting with Zelensky and the Europeans in Oslo, Trump in his evening remarks once again spoke harshly about Zelensky and demanded that he “make a deal.”