Zelensky arrives in Norway for talks with Trump envoy as US-Ukraine tensions deepen

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the latest details.

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Oct. 20 for talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Zelensky announced on social media.

"Important meetings are scheduled," including a bilateral meeting with Witkoff, Zelensky said.

The president will also hold a trilateral meeting with Store and Stubb, as well as a meeting with all three officials.  The talks will touch upon "Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and the ⁠overall security ​situation in Europe," said Stubb.

"We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace. We will also discuss strengthening our air defense and joint production," said Zelensky on social media.

The planned meetings come amid rising tensions between Kyiv and Washington, as Ukraine accuses the U.S. of using military assistance and access to technology to pressure it to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Witkoff will attend the meeting in person, while Jared Kushner is expected to join remotely due to an alleged illness, Reuters reported on Oct. 19, citing a source familiar with the matter.

"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Norway and Finland to organize a meeting as part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts, in a critical time for Ukraine," Store said in a statement.

"Together with President Alexander Stubb, I'm glad to be able to host this meeting in Oslo."

Zelensky met with the Finnish and Norwegian leaders shortly after his arrival, as well as with Norway's King Haakon VIII, with whom the president discussed efforts to rescue Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

"We discussed what steps we can take to make this happen," Zelensky said on X.

"We are also doing everything we can to help our people in Oleshky, which is under Russian occupation. The situation there is simply horrific," he said, describing a dire situation in a Russian-occupied town in Kherson Oblast.

Other European officials — reportedly including representatives of the U.K., Germany, France, and Poland — are also expected to join the discussions in Oslo.

The EU would be represented by Bjoern Seibert, head of the cabinet of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a senior Commission official told the Kyiv Independent. Seibert, regarded as von der Leyen's "right-hand man," previously took part in an earlier round of peace talks on Oct. 9.

Lorenz Meyer-Minnemann, the deputy chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO, will also take part in the talks, a NATO official told the Kyiv Independent.

The new round of talks comes amid worsening relations between Kyiv and Washington following the announcement of an unexpected U.S.-Russia diesel deal on Oct. 9.

Since then, Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged sharp public criticism. Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of not wanting to end the war, saying he "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."

Trump has also refused to condemn the Kremlin over its escalating attacks on Ukraine, including strikes on the country's already vulnerable energy infrastructure.

Zelensky, meanwhile, warned in an interview with NBC News that siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake." His remarks came amid concerns in Kyiv that Washington could be withholding the delivery of Patriot air defense missiles funded by Ukraine's allies and cutting off crucial intelligence about Russian missile attacks.

Witkoff is also reportedly expected to meet Putin in Moscow to discuss the possible release of Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old American citizen who was reportedly serving with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, when Russian forces detained him in 2022.