U.S. envoy Witkoff meets with Putin in Russia amid report Musk throttled Starlink

On Wednesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff lauded Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "humanist" during a meeting in St. Petersburg, despite ongoing Russian assaults on Ukrainian civilians. UN monitors have reported that the recent weeks have seen some of the deadliest incidents for civilians in Ukraine in years, with at least 328 killed and 2,105 injured in September alone.

Witkoff thanked Putin for releasing American teacher Stephen Hubbard, who Washington deemed wrongfully detained, and presented proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The envoy suggested that technical working group representatives could join the talks. He also asked to include Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, in a subsequent telephone discussion.

Witkoff urged Putin to discuss next steps toward three-way negotiations, even if no agreement could be reached during the meeting. The envoy arrived in Russia from Norway, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine and the US had agreed on war-ending proposals, including security guarantees.

However, he noted that intelligence sharing with the US had resumed, and that Patriot interceptors and Starlink restrictions could be implemented within 48 hours. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine had to be willing to make a deal, claiming that Washington and Europe had spent a fortune on Kyiv and that Europe was tired of the conflict.