Witkoff was greeted at the airport by Russian presidential advisor Kirill Dmitriev. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said it was unclear whether any agreement would be reached but that the talks were focused on the conflict. Rubio said Witkoff would share the ideas gathered from his meeting with Zelenskyy with the Russian side.
Zelenskyy thanked Washington on Tuesday for resuming intelligence sharing on Russian strikes, calling the early warnings 'very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians'. The restored cooperation followed days of friction between Kyiv and Washington after Trump struck a diesel-supply deal with Putin and called for Zelenskyy's resignation over Ukraine's refusal to stop hitting Russian oil refineries.
Zelenskyy has accused the US of delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles already paid for by European countries and of slowing down the Starshield satellite communications system crucial for Ukraine's battlefield operations. Rubio dismissed the allegations, saying Trump had nothing to do with decisions made by Starlink and Starshield and that the president has 'nothing to do with decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk'. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Elon Musk ordered the slowdown.
Trump renewed calls on Tuesday for Zelenskyy to 'make a deal' with Russia, as Moscow intensifies its strikes ahead of winter. The US president also said he had asked Putin to release American captive Stephen Hubbard. 'I've been talking to him at length. I've asked him to release him. Let's see what happens,' Trump told journalists.
Zelenskyy insisted that Kyiv must be represented at any negotiations about Ukraine's future. 'If there are issues about Ukraine, our future, it can be acceptable only when we are at the table of negotiations,' he said.
On the ground, both sides continued long-range strikes. Ukraine reported two deaths from a Russian attack on a high-rise building in Kyiv, while Russia said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the Bryansk region.