Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday for a critical round of diplomatic talks aimed at addressing European security and the ongoing war, even as friction deepens between Kyiv and Washington. The meetings in Norway, co-hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, bring together representatives from the European Union, NATO, and the European E4 nations of Britain, France, Germany, and Poland.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to participate in the Oslo negotiations. Sources familiar with the discussions indicated that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was also expected to take part virtually due to illness. Following the sessions in Norway, Witkoff is reportedly set to travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war and the potential release of jailed American citizen Stephen Hubbard, who was imprisoned in 2022.
The diplomatic push comes at a strained juncture for relations between Ukraine and the United States. President Trump has increasingly criticized Kyiv, stating on Monday that Russia had been “fine on Ukraine” and suggesting that Zelensky should find “somebody else to negotiate.” Kyiv has voiced frustration that Washington has recently withheld early warning notifications for incoming Russian missile launches and restricted SpaceX satellite links used to guide Ukrainian drones. Furthermore, defense sources reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet authorized the delivery of the latest weaponry package purchased by NATO allies under the PURL program, leaving uncertainty over whether advanced interceptors such as Patriots have reached Ukrainian forces.
Despite the diplomatic friction, Zelensky held discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio focusing on ballistic missile interceptors, early-warning systems, and the restoration of the Starlink and Starshield satellite networks. “Of course, all of this comes against the backdrop of our diplomatic efforts to end this horrific war and the constant killing of people,” Zelensky posted on social media.
On the ground, Russian forces continued widespread attacks across Ukraine. An overnight Russian airstrike in the region surrounding Kyiv struck a production and warehouse building, killing three people and injuring six others, according to local emergency services. In the southern Odesa region, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, reported that overnight strikes hit three of its energy facilities, leaving 32,700 families without electricity as repair crews worked around the clock.
The Russian defense ministry also claimed strikes against three cargo vessels in the port of Reni, another vessel en route to Odesa, and two logistics hubs located in the Volyn region and the city of Khmelnitskiy, alleging they were utilized for military purposes.
Meanwhile, diplomatic fallout continued on a separate front between Kyiv and Seoul. South Korea announced on Tuesday that it would withdraw additional staff from its embassy in Kyiv, deepening a dispute triggered last month when Zelensky publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war during a United Nations speech. Seoul accused Ukraine of breaching a nondisclosure agreement—a claim Kyiv has denied—prompting South Korea to recall its ambassador earlier in the month and now reduce its diplomatic footprint due to a perceived lack of constructive steps from Ukraine alongside safety concerns from intensifying Russian bombardments.
In regional developments, Belarus announced on Monday that it was barring the entry of various goods from neighboring Latvia, including canned fish and industrial items. Minsk cited Latvia’s “unfriendly rhetoric and unconstructive approach” as the catalyst for the ban, following Latvia’s border closure in July amid ongoing tensions involving cross-border migrant crossings into the European Union.
