US Envoy Arrives in Norway for High-Stakes Talks With Zelensky and Allies
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Norway ahead of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies. BBC
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Zelensky had asked Oslo and Finland to organise the meeting with the United States and European allies at a critical time for Ukraine. He said the aim is to steer relations toward "a more constructive path" and ensure the war ends diplomatically with a lasting and just peace.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and officials from the United Kingdom, Poland, France and Germany, as well as the European Union and NATO, the Western military alliance, were expected to take part. Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, was expected to join by video-link.
The meeting follows public disagreement over American military support. Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a military technical adviser to Zelensky, told the BBC that the lack of reliable US warnings about incoming attacks meant lives were being lost.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected accusations that Ukrainians were dying because Washington was withholding intelligence as "scandalous" and "outrageous". Speaking while on a visit to India, he said nothing had been denied to Kyiv intentionally, though he said it may be true that Patriot interceptor missiles, weapons used to shoot down incoming missiles, had not yet arrived in Ukraine. Zelensky had earlier said Washington had briefly paused intelligence sharing, according to Reuters. Zelensky later said he had a "constructive discussion" with Rubio about US early warnings, missile interceptors and Starlink, the SpaceX-operated satellite internet service used in Ukraine.
A bipartisan group of US senators has called for an urgent investigation into disruptions to the Starlink network in Ukraine.
Trump has increased pressure on Zelensky in recent days. He said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president and that it is time "for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine".
Other allies have described the limits of US support. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US had not been paying for the defence of Ukraine since the start of 2025. US Vice-President JD Vance said Ukraine was "certainly a partner in some ways" but that the US has no formal alliance with Ukraine as far as he knows.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped a meeting with Witkoff could be organised in the near future.
