US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg on the morning of 21 October 2026 for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, following a day of diplomatic discussions with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Norway and Finland. Witkoff was greeted at Pulkovo Airport by Kirill Dmitriev, an advisor to the Kremlin on international economic cooperation. According to The Guardian, the envoy's visit represents a significant diplomatic push to explore potential pathways toward resolving the conflict.
The tone of optimism expressed by Zelenskyy and the Norwegian and Finnish leaders following their meetings with Witkoff may face a test during the Saint Petersburg discussions. However, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov tempered expectations, telling Russian news agency Interfax that he "didn't know if any agreement will be reached today." A US official characterised the earlier Oslo discussions as "very productive and constructive," noting that Ukraine brought "new ideas and proposals" to those talks.
The reported updated US proposal was designed to establish a foundation for direct trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, as well as broader multilateral discussions. According to reporting ahead of the meeting, Jared Kushner was expected to join the Putin meeting remotely. Zelenskyy had previously proposed a ceasefire covering attacks on energy infrastructure, though Putin had rejected that specific proposal.
Republicans express alarm over Trump's Ukraine stance
Overnight, several Republican lawmakers have publicly criticised Trump's shifting position on Ukraine support, with some threatening to withdraw backing for his broader political agenda. Don Bacon, an outgoing congressman from Nebraska, denounced Trump's recent actions—which include waiving sanctions on Russia and striking a diesel fuel import deal with Putin—as "absolutely disgraceful." Bacon accused the US president of aligning himself with a "war criminal" in Putin and stated on Monday that "there's a lot of us" within the Republican party "can't stand it," adding that "the president's leverage in this Congress is shot."
Last week, Trump waived sanctions that had been imposed on Russia through legislation named after his longtime ally and late senator Lindsey Graham. The law, which Trump had signed only the previous month, was designed to intensify financial pressure on Russia more than four years after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Instead of maintaining that pressure, Trump announced he had negotiated a deal with Putin to import diesel fuel, a commodity that has become increasingly expensive for American consumers largely as a result of Trump's escalating tensions with Iran. The arrangement represents a significant shift in Trump's approach to Russia.
Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities conduct National Bank searches
Ukraine's anti-corruption police announced that detectives were conducting searches at the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine and also at the residential address of one of the central bank's employees, according to reporting by Reuters. The anti-corruption police disclosed the operation through a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app, noting that no individuals had been detained or issued a suspicion notice at the time of the announcement. The National Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the searches.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the searches were linked to investigations into an alleged criminal group, with the anti-corruption agencies having previously described a money-laundering scheme involving bail arrangements for former minister Herman Halushchenko and the state-owned Sense Bank. The reporting also indicated that the searches may have targeted the office of National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi, though the anti-corruption authorities did not identify the specific employee or disclose additional case details.
What happens next in the diplomatic process
The outcome of Witkoff's discussions with Putin on 21 October 2026 will be closely watched for any indication of movement toward negotiations. The meeting represents part of a broader diplomatic initiative aimed at exploring whether direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin might be feasible, building on the momentum from the earlier discussions in Oslo and the meetings with European leaders.
Separately, France was expected to deploy military personnel ahead of further weekend protests, as both France and Italy continued to manage responses to recent demonstrations and civil unrest that had disrupted daily life across the continent.
