World

Russia Agrees to Resume US-Ukraine Talks in November: What Was Agreed and What's at Stake

After three hours with Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, Putin's aide says Russia is ready for three-way talks around 10 November. Hubbard is freed, but sanctions and Starshield rows cloud the picture.

Raj ·Founder & Editor

Published in World · 6 min read · Oct 22, 2026

An empty negotiating table with chairs and folders in a grand palace room at dusk, a river city visible through tall windows, illustrating Russia-US-Ukraine peace talks

In this article

This explainer reflects reports available as of about 7:45am IST on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Diplomatic positions are shifting quickly, and dates and details may change.

Russia says it is ready to restart three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine on ending the war. Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov announced the step on Wednesday, 21 October, after President Vladimir Putin held almost three hours of talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Constantine Palace near St Petersburg. The same day, Russia freed a jailed American, retired schoolteacher Stephen Hubbard. The announcement comes after a week of strained relations between Washington and Kyiv. Here is what was agreed, what is still unclear, and what is on the table.

What did Russia agree to?

According to the Kremlin's own transcript of Ushakov's briefing, Putin told Witkoff that Russia is "in principle" ready to resume trilateral talks "around the 10th of November". Ushakov said the talks would focus on "the establishment of a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the end of the conflict". He also said Witkoff told Putin that President Donald Trump "would undoubtedly welcome such a decision".

The details are still loose:

Timing: Russian media quoted Ushakov as saying the round would be held "probably in the middle of November, around the 10th". AP reported the restart as "after Nov. 10".
Venue: Ushakov said Moscow is "looking at Abu Dhabi", where an earlier trilateral round took place in January (BBC Russian, Interfax-Ukraine).
Level and delegates: He said the talks would be at expert level and that the line-up had not been decided.
Context: AP noted that these would be the first such three-way talks since February.

Witkoff later wrote on X that the meeting had been constructive and that work would continue in a trilateral format "at the technical level", BBC Russian reported. Ushakov also blamed Ukraine for derailing an earlier plan to resume talks after Russia's State Duma elections, saying it had launched large-scale strikes on voting day. That is Moscow's account and has not been independently verified.

Timeline: a turbulent October

Date (2026)	Event
9 October	Trump and Putin speak by phone. The US Treasury waives sanctions on Russian diesel until April 2027 (CNBC, OFAC).
Mid-October	Ukraine reports that US early-warning intelligence has been interrupted and that its SpaceX Starshield satellite service has been slowed (BBC, Reuters).
15 October	Ukraine resumes drone strikes on Russian refineries, ending a short US-declared "energy ceasefire" (NBC News, Al Jazeera).
16–17 October	Trump waives the main tariff provisions of a new Russia sanctions law. Zelenskyy calls the move "wrong" (CNBC).
20 October	Talks in Oslo between Zelenskyy, Witkoff, Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Støre and Finland's President Alexander Stubb. Zelenskyy says US early-warning intelligence "works now" (Norwegian government, Reuters).
21 October	Putin meets Witkoff in St Petersburg for about three hours. Russia frees Stephen Hubbard and says it is ready to resume trilateral talks (Kremlin, AP, Reuters).
Around 10 November	Proposed date for expert-level trilateral talks, possibly in Abu Dhabi (Kremlin, Interfax-Ukraine).

The Oslo talks: Ukraine and Europe's proposal

Witkoff flew to St Petersburg straight from Oslo. On Tuesday, 20 October, he met Zelenskyy there with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Jared Kushner joined by video link. National security advisers from the UK, Germany, Italy, the EU and NATO joined a working dinner. The Norwegian government said the talks covered "Ukraine's security, a post-war prosperity plan, and territorial questions."

A US official told Reuters that Ukraine had brought "new ideas and proposals". The official said the talks covered "key elements of a comprehensive peace framework", including:

Security guarantees for Ukraine
A post-war economic plan
A broader European security architecture

Zelenskyy said he had discussed "Article 5-like" security guarantees, a reference to NATO's mutual-defence clause. Stubb said the peace process was "back on track". Before the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would listen to Witkoff's proposals but ruled out "any political concessions" (BBC).

Why the Hubbard release matters

Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, as Witkoff arrived. Hubbard was detained in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum in 2022. He was later sentenced to six years and ten months for alleged "mercenary activity" after a closed trial, a charge he denies. Washington had designated him wrongfully detained. NBC News reported he was the last American with that designation in Russia.

The Kremlin's account and Trump's agree on the basics:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin freed Hubbard at Trump's request and took his poor health into account (Reuters).
Trump said the US gave "nothing" in return and that no prisoner swap was needed (NPR, AP).

Witkoff thanked Putin on camera and called him "a humanitarian". Reuters reported that the remark drew criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Sanctions relief and the satellite row

The talks follow several US moves that Kyiv sees as favouring Moscow.

Sanctions waivers: On 9 October the US Treasury issued General License 135, allowing trade in Russian diesel until 7 April 2027. On 16 October Trump invoked a national-interest waiver to suspend the key tariff provisions of the newly enacted Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, CNBC reported. Those provisions included duties of up to 500% on Russian goods and tariffs of up to 100% on top buyers of Russian energy, such as China and India. Zelenskyy said the decision "definitely helps only the Russians" and predicted that "sanctions relief will continue". The diesel deal is covered in our companion explainer on Trump's Russian diesel deal and record diesel prices, and the wider tariff waiver in our earlier report.
Satellite access: Last week Ukraine said its military Starshield terminals, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink, stopped working on fast-moving drones. The service was later capped at about 160 km/h (100 mph). Who ordered the slowdown is disputed. Two US officials and a Western official told Reuters the order came from inside the White House. Trump denied it ("It wasn't me"). CBS News, citing sources, reported that the decision was Elon Musk's. Musk said limits are "decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS". Zelenskyy's office told CBS on Wednesday that service was still throttled.
Intelligence sharing: Ukraine said US early warnings of Russian ballistic missile launches were interrupted for about three days. Zelenskyy said after Oslo that they had been restored. The White House said there had been no change to intelligence sharing. A Zelenskyy adviser told the BBC the warnings were still inconsistent. The exact scope and cause of the pause are not confirmed.

How has Zelenskyy reacted?

Zelenskyy has backed the idea of talks while criticising US sanctions relief. On Wednesday evening, after the Kremlin announcement, he told journalists in a voice message that Kyiv understood Russia supported a trilateral meeting "at the level of our teams". He said the US side wanted it held "as soon as possible", adding: "We support this" (BBC Russian). He has said he wants the key questions settled at a meeting of the three leaders, not only at expert level.

What's on the table?

Security guarantees: Kyiv and Europe want strong "Article 5-like" guarantees. Moscow's stated agenda is a post-war "security system for Russia and Ukraine".
Territory: This remains the biggest obstacle. BBC Russian reports that Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw from all of the Donbas region, including areas Russian forces have not captured. Kyiv rejects this.
Economic recovery and sanctions: The Oslo framework includes a post-war prosperity plan for Ukraine. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has promoted US-Russia economic cooperation, and Moscow wants further sanctions relief.
Energy strikes: Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries and Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid have become bargaining chips, especially as fuel prices rise worldwide.

What happens next?

The key test is whether expert-level talks actually take place around 10 November, and whether they lead to a leaders' meeting. US domestic politics also matter. The US midterm elections are on 3 November, and analysts note that Trump faces pressure over high fuel prices. In Europe, governments are watching closely as the continent rethinks its defence, as our report on Britain's war-readiness planning shows. Meanwhile, the fighting continues: the Kremlin says Russian forces are pressing offensives, while Kyiv disputes Moscow's battlefield claims. Previous rounds in Abu Dhabi and Geneva did not produce a breakthrough, so caution is warranted.

Sources

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Written by Raj

Founder & Editor

I write HorizonDesk: practical, no-hype articles on technology, money, business and the vehicles we drive. Everything here is something I’ve researched, tested or wanted explained clearly myself.