Zelensky and US envoys holding Oslo talks as Rubio denies withholding intelligence

ByPaul Kirby Europe digital editor. 20 October 2026, 12: 30 BST.

Key points

• US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Volodymyr Zelensky are session in Oslo, with relations on the slide between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier rejected as "scandalous" accusations that Ukrainians were dying since the US was withholding intelligence from Kyiv.
• He observed that the US had not been paying for the defence of Ukraine since the start of 2025, and Europe and other countries were shouldering the burden.
• The Ukrainian leader remarked earlier he had had a "constructive discussion" with Rubio concerning the need for US early warnings, missile interceptors and SpaceX's Starlink internet network.
• Dmitry Peskov remarked "we greatly appreciate the mediation efforts of the American negotiators".

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre remarked Zelensky had asked Oslo and neighbouring Finland to organise the negotiations with the US and European allies "at a critical time for Ukraine".

He was speaking after Zelensky's top military adviser Serhii Beskrestnov informed the BBC the lack of reliable US warnings – including concerning ballistic missile launches – meant lives were being lost.

"This looks very strange, " remarked Beskrestnov, widely known as "Flash". "Sometimes we receive this information before the attack, another time we not."

Relations between Kyiv and the US have soured in recent weeks to the extent that Trump has remarked it is time for Ukraine to secure a new president, and most lately "for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine".

Zelensky first met the Norwegian prime minister and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, ahead of his planned discussions in person with Witkoff, with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner taking part via video link.

Støre remarked the aim of the Oslo negotiations was to steer relations towards "a more constructive path". He remarked to journalists at the parliament in Norway that they wanted to ensure that the war concluded diplomatically with a lasting and just peace.

Notably, the Ukrainian leader remarked earlier he had had a "constructive discussion" with Rubio concerning the need for US early warnings, missile interceptors and SpaceX's Starlink internet network.

Last week a bipartisan group of US senators pressed an urgent investigation into disruptions to the Starlink network in Ukraine, and unconfirmed reports on Tuesday stated the transfer of more Patriot interceptors had not yet been approved.

Although nothing had been denied to Kyiv intentionally, the US secretary of state is at present on a visit to India and admitted to reporters that it may be true that Patriot interceptor missiles had not yet arrived in Ukraine.

Zelensky was set to join his Norwegian and Finnish counterparts for a press conference after the discussions, but Witkoff was not anticipated to join them, according to the administration in Oslo, external.

It is not yet clear whether Witkoff will travel on to Russia after his visit to Oslo, nevertheless the Kremlin spokesman stated he hoped a session with Trump's special envoy could be organised in the near future. Dmitry Peskov remarked "we greatly appreciate the mediation efforts of the American negotiators".

Earlier this month Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed the war with Trump over the phone, and afterwards the US president confirmed that Moscow would immediately supply more than 300, 000 tons of diesel to the US and other markets, bringing to an end American sanctions on Russian diesel exports.

Trump's accord with the Russian leader coincided with Witkoff and Kushner's last gathering with Ukrainian authorities in Miami, and Zelensky reacted by calling it "a happy birthday present for Putin".

Ahead of next month's US midterm elections, Trump has blamed Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries for fuel rates which have reached record highs at the pump since the start of the US-led war on Iran.

European leaders have expressed concern regarding recent statements from the US towards Russia, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke on Monday of "mixed pictures and messages" on the war, adding that he was trying to convince the American administration "in total that this is something we have to resolve jointly".

"It's really a big effort for our budgets, it's really a big thing for the European Union, but we are doing that and we are trying to keep on doing that until this terrible war ends, " the German leader informed Bloomberg TV.

Asked whether or not Ukraine was a US ally, Vice-President JD Vance has remarked in a TV interview that Kyiv was "certainly a partner in some ways, but we have some divergent interests from time to time, like for example. I think they should stop bombing Russian energy".

"We don't have a formal alliance as far as I know with Ukraine. They're not in Nato, I don't think they should be in Nato. We're gonna work together on some things, but additionally we're going to be opposite on some things too." Putin rolled out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Taken together, the developments around zelensky and US envoys holding Oslo talks as Rubio denies withholding intelligence point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.