Diplomacy and renewed strikes moved on parallel tracks this week in the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Trump's chief negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, in Oslo, Norway, as the two sides worked to narrow their differences over how to bring the war to a close. The meeting came after Kyiv had suggested that the United States was pulling back support that Ukraine considers essential to its defense, a characterization that Secretary of State Marco Rubio called scandalous. The disagreement reflects the delicate position Ukraine is in as it depends heavily on American weapons and intelligence sharing while also needing to maintain a united front with Washington during active negotiations with Moscow.
The talks are part of a broader push by the Trump administration to find a diplomatic path out of the war, an effort that has included separate conversations with the Kremlin. Reports this week indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had signaled a willingness to resume trilateral, U.S.-mediated talks as soon as November, which would be a notable step after months of start-and-stop diplomacy.
Even as the diplomatic track moved forward, the war on the ground continued without pause. Ukrainian officials said Russian ballistic missiles and drones struck Kyiv overnight, killing at least one person and injuring 22 others, with homes, a car repair shop and a gas station in the capital's Dniprovskyi district among the properties damaged. Ukraine's air defenses said they intercepted 150 of the 186 drones Russia launched against the country since the evening of October 20, a reminder of both the scale of the aerial campaign and the limits of even a well-functioning air defense network. Ukraine's military also reported continuing to strike Russian command posts and logistics depots in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and in Crimea over the same period.
For readers trying to follow the diplomacy, the core tension has not changed in months: Ukraine wants guarantees that any peace deal will not leave it vulnerable to future attack, while the pace and shape of American support remains a point of friction even between allies who broadly agree on the goal of ending the fighting.
Watch for whether the Oslo talks produce a framework that both the United States and Ukraine can present to Russia, and whether the reported November trilateral meeting actually materializes.
Who met in Oslo?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff, who attended in person, and Jared Kushner, who joined remotely.
Why did the U.S. call Ukraine's comments 'scandalous'?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio used that word after Kyiv suggested the U.S. had pulled back support Ukraine considers crucial, a characterization Washington disputed.
- NBC News: Zelenskyy meets with Trump envoys as U.S. blasts 'scandalous' accusations
- US News: Russia Pounds Ukraine's Capital Kyiv With Missiles and Drones, Hours After Agreeing to Peace Talks
- Ukrinform: Air defenses intercept 150 drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine overnight
- FinanceFeeds: Kremlin says Putin agreed to resume US-mediated talks as early as November