Zelensky arrives in Oslo for talks with US envoy Witkoff amid cooling relations with Washington

The key facts

Zelensky arrived in Oslo for talks with Witkoff; Kushner is participating by video link, with Stubb and representatives of the UK, Poland, France, Germany, the EU and NATO also expected.
Rubio called 'scandalous' the accusations of withholding intelligence from Kyiv made by Zelensky's adviser Beskrestnov in a BBC interview.
Trump previously said Ukraine needs a new president and that someone else should conduct the negotiations.

Talks in Oslo

US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Norway for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Zelensky asked Oslo and neighboring Finland to arrange a meeting with the US and European allies 'at a critical moment for Ukraine.' According to Støre, the aim of the talks is to steer relations 'onto a more constructive path' and achieve a diplomatic end to the war with a durable and just peace. Witkoff was expected to attend in person, while Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was to participate by video link. Also planned were the participation of Finnish President Alexander Stubb and representatives of the UK, Poland, France, Germany, the EU and NATO.

Dispute over intelligence

Before the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected as 'scandalous' and 'outrageous' the accusations that Ukrainians are dying because the US is not passing intelligence to Kyiv. The accusations were made by Zelensky's military technical adviser Serhii 'Flash' Beskrestnov in a BBC interview: 'It looks very strange. Sometimes we receive this information before an attack, and sometimes we do not.' Zelensky previously said he had a 'constructive conversation' with Rubio about the need for American early warnings, Patriot interceptor missiles and SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet.

Patriot and Starlink

Last week, a group of US senators from both parties called for an urgent investigation into Starlink network outages in Ukraine. On Tuesday, unconfirmed reports emerged that the transfer of additional Patriot interceptors had not yet been approved. Rubio, who is on a visit to India, acknowledged that the Patriot interceptors may not yet have arrived in Ukraine, but stressed that nothing had been deliberately denied to Kyiv.

Cooling relations between Kyiv and Washington

Relations between Kyiv and the US have deteriorated in recent weeks: Trump said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president and that 'someone else should negotiate for Ukraine.' Vice President JD Vance said in a television interview that Kyiv is 'in some sense a partner, but our interests sometimes diverge,' adding that Ukraine should stop strikes on the Russian energy sector: 'As far as I know, we do not have a formal alliance with Ukraine. They are not in NATO, and I do not think they should be in NATO.'

Context: Russia and Europe's position

It is unclear whether Witkoff will travel to Russia after Oslo, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed hope that a meeting with Trump's envoy would be arranged in the near future, noting: 'We highly value the mediation efforts of the American negotiators.' Earlier this month, Vladimir Putin discussed the war with Trump by phone, after which Trump announced that Moscow would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the US and other markets, ending American sanctions on Russian diesel exports. European leaders expressed concern over recent US statements regarding Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke on Monday of 'mixed pictures and signals' and said he was trying to persuade the US administration to address the issue jointly. He pointed out that the US has not paid for Ukraine's defense since the beginning of 2025, and the burden is borne by Europe and other countries: 'This is really a big strain on our budgets... but we are doing it and trying to continue until this terrible war ends.'