Kremlin hopes Witkoff will brief Putin on Ukraine talks, amid report of Wednesday meeting and anticipated release of Stephen Hubbard

The Kremlin said Tuesday it hopes U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will brief Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days on talks with Ukrainian and European leaders in Oslo. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes to arrange a meeting very soon and praised the American negotiators’ mediation efforts.

The New York Times reported that Witkoff plans to meet Putin on Wednesday in St. Petersburg and is expected to secure the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine after his capture in 2022. Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed ongoing talks with U.S. officials about a possible prisoner release but gave no further details. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he and Putin had discussed Hubbard and hinted at a possible release.

A U.S. official told Axios correspondent Barak Ravid that Witkoff hopes to present ideas developed in close consultation with Ukraine and European partners. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined the Norway talks virtually after contracting the flu.

The New York Times also reported that Trump is seeking to force a deal on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while Putin continues to demand full control of the Donetsk region as a prerequisite for a ceasefire—a condition Kyiv has consistently rejected. Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump urged Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war, saying Russia is “a large machine that simply keeps grinding forward.”

Sources close to Bloomberg reported last month that Putin expects Russian forces to achieve full control of Donetsk by late February 2027. Witkoff and Kushner previously visited Russia on September 5. Reuters also contributed to this report.