Russia and Ukraine engaged in renewed hostilities overnight, resulting in seven deaths on the Ukrainian side, shortly after a US envoy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. The violence occurred despite diplomatic efforts aimed at reviving negotiations to end the conflict.
The US President’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a three-hour meeting with Putin on Wednesday, following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo earlier in the week. President Donald Trump expressed cautious optimism after the meeting, suggesting that negotiators were “maybe now the closest we’ve been” to ending the war.
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that Russian air defenses faced a barrage of some 630 drones targeting the region, with 163 drones approaching the Russian capital. Two people were wounded in Moscow, while additional injuries were reported in the nearby Tula and Lipetsk regions. Russian defenses reportedly destroyed 70 drones over Tula.
On the Ukrainian side, authorities confirmed fatalities including a man in Sumy and a woman in Kharkiv in the northeast, as well as three people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and two in Donetsk in the east. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that strikes had wounded 15 people and caused damage to infrastructure at the Pivdenny Bridge, impairing traffic between parts of the city. Ukraine’s air force issued warnings of further ballistic missile attacks targeting Kyiv and advised residents to remain in shelters.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov indicated that Russia was “in principle” willing to resume trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, potentially as early as mid-November after the U.S. midterm elections. The focus of these talks, according to the Kremlin, would be post-war security arrangements. Zelensky has also expressed support for resuming the trilateral dialogue.
Witkoff briefed Putin on developments following the Oslo meeting but noted limited progress on substantive issues. The Kremlin announced plans to hold a historic summit next month in Shenzhen, China, involving Putin, Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During their discussions, Witkoff praised Putin for agreeing to release Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen and retired English teacher detained on charges related to fighting for Ukraine, which Hubbard denied. The envoy described the talks as “constructive” but acknowledged that “important work” remained. He also noted continued technical-level discussions between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia would follow.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has prioritized ending the conflict, initially promising a resolution within 24 hours. However, over a year of negotiations led by the US has yet to yield a breakthrough. Recently, Trump has shifted focus toward improving relations with Russia, including supporting a deal for Russia to sell diesel fuel, which drew condemnation in Kyiv and across Europe. Trump defended postponing sanctions on Russia's military to secure Hubbard’s release, stating harsher measures could have jeopardized the prisoner’s freedom.
The war, ongoing since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, remains Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II and has caused tens of thousands of casualties. President Putin has consistently rejected direct talks with Zelensky and reaffirmed Russia's intention to control the entirety of eastern Ukraine.