Putin Tells Witkoff He Will Negotiate in Principle as Russia Frees American Stephen Hubbard
After three hours in St Petersburg, the Kremlin said Putin backs US-mediated three-way talks, possibly in Abu Dhabi in mid-November, and Moscow released a 74-year-old American teacher.
Thursday, October 22, 2026/2 min read
The first US-mediated talks on Ukraine since February now have a rough shape and, possibly, a venue. Vladimir Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for about three hours, and the Kremlin said he is willing "in principle" to negotiate, Al Jazeera reported.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met Witkoff and European leaders in Oslo a day earlier, also backs a three-way format. It was Witkoff's ninth in-person meeting with Putin.
When and where could the Ukraine peace talks happen?
Zelenskyy said the talks should take place no later than early November and that Washington wants them as soon as possible. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said they could come in mid-November and later told Russian state television that Abu Dhabi was a possibility. The last US-mediated round was in February, before the US and Israel went to war with Iran.
The two sides remain far apart on terms. Ushakov described the ideas brought by Kyiv and the Europeans as having "not really much substance," according to the same report. Putin also offered to help Trump on Iran, the Kremlin said, and the two men discussed a possible Trump, Xi and Putin meeting in China next month.
Who is Stephen Hubbard and why was he freed?
The talks opened with the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan who was captured in Ukraine soon after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia accused him of fighting for Ukraine by manning a checkpoint and sentenced him in 2024 to almost seven years, CBS News reported. He was in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Putin freed Hubbard at his request and that no swap was needed. He then said Hubbard would not have come home had he not held off new sanctions on Russia, a step we covered when he waived the penalties days before they were due.
Why is Witkoff's praise of Putin controversial?
Witkoff thanked Putin and told him that because of him Hubbard was going home, and he called him "a humanitarian." That drew criticism from US lawmakers, CBS reported. The war did not pause for diplomacy: Al Jazeera noted a Russian attack on a Kyiv high-rise that killed two people and a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia's Bryansk region that killed at least one.
Zelenskyy said after the Oslo meeting that US intelligence sharing, which he called "very, very important," had been restored. He also accused Washington of slowing access to Starshield, a military satellite internet service that matters to Ukraine's battlefield operations. Al Jazeera noted that relations between Kyiv and Washington have worsened since Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia earlier this month.
The test now is whether a date and a venue are fixed, and whether Moscow's stated willingness comes with any movement on the frontline or on sanctions relief, which it is widely understood to want.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
Editorial desk
Outspoken Digest News DeskReports for The Outspoken Digest across Latest Trends, Sports, Nutrition, Crypto.
Newsletter
The Digest, in your inbox
One edition, sent when it is ready. No noise, and your address is never passed on.
Read Next
More Latest Trends →
Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Bureau Searches the National Bank, and Governor Pyshnyi Says He Is Staying
Oct 22, 2026/2 min read
Iran Says Hormuz Stays Shut Until Washington Accepts Its Seven-Day Plan, and Explosions Are Reported on Its Coast
Oct 22, 2026/2 min read
Two Killed at a Saudi Oil Field and One at Dammam Airport as the US Orders Embassy Staff Out of Saudi Arabia
Oct 22, 2026/2 min read
France Lines Up an Extra 200,000 Tonnes of Gulf Diesel a Month as Macron Tours the Gulf
Oct 21, 2026/2 min read