US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Whitoff, has arrived in Russia, where he is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss proposals for ending the war in Ukraine.

By BBC-of Witkoff’s visit comes a day after the meeting he held in Oslo with Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky in talks that an American official named as productive and constructive.

Meetings are taking place at a time when Washington, Kiev and European allies are discussing possible steps towards the end of the war, which began with the complete Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

After talks in Oslo, Zelensky said the exchange of intelligence data with the United States for Russian missile attacks is already functioning.

We are grateful that intelligence is now functioning, Zelensky said, referring to early warnings enabling Ukrainian authorities to inform citizens of possible attacks, including those with ballistic missiles.

Earlier, Kiev had accused Washington of limiting access to important intelligence information, claims the American side had rejected.

Zelensky also said he hopes for positive results in terms of Ukraine’s access to the SpaceX company’s Starlink satellite network, as the Ukrainian Army had reported speed restrictions on the platform it uses for surveillance operations against Russia.

Zelensky: Russia Must Respond to Peace Proposals

Ukrainian President and his European allies have stressed that Moscow is already up to Moscow to react to the proposals discussed in Oslo.

Finland’s President Alexander Stubbb, who participated in the talks, said real progress was being noted in discussions on achieving peace, but warned that the process would require patience.

An American official described the talks as very productive and constructive, stressing that the US, Ukraine and Europe have achieved a high level of compliance for future steps.

Jared Kouchner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of his envoys participated in Tuesday’s meeting by video connection.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin had not publicly commented on recent developments. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had announced earlier that the Kremlin would listen to Witkoff’s proposals, but ruled out the possibility of any political issue.

Trump seeks agreement as tensions with Kiev continue

Relations between Ukraine and the United States have been strained in recent weeks. Trump has criticised the Ukrainian leadership and declared Ukraine must reach an agreement to end the war.

After the meeting in Oslo, the US president reiterated that he wants Kiev to reach an agreement, saying Russia wants the war to end.

Meanwhile, US vice president JD Vance has declared Ukraine to be a US partner in several areas, but that the two countries also have different interests. He has cited Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure as an example.

Vance has also stressed that Ukraine is not a NATO member and that, according to him, it should not become part of the alliance.

On the other hand, Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for negotiations, but stressed that the country is losing lives due to Russian attacks.

He announced that security guarantees for Ukraine and proposals for a ceasefire in the energy sector were also discussed in the talks in Oslo.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stére, who also attended the meetings, stressed that Europe should be part of any discussion about how the war might end.

Russian attacks continue, reports of new victims

As diplomatic efforts are under way, Russian attacks on Ukraine have continued.

According to Ukrainian officials, at least ten people were killed Tuesday in fears — four in Kiev and the surrounding region, four in the eastern Donjeck region and two in the central city of Dnipro.

Another attack Wednesday night left two people killed near Harkiwi, Ukraine’s second largest city.

Russia began its total invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and currently controls about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

Source Layer: Dukeagini