Release of Stephen Hubbard from Russian custody
◆2 sources
Russia released 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard, who had been in custody since 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the release followed a request from US President Donald Trump.
US pressure on Ukraine amid Russian attacks
15 sources
Ukraine faced continued Russian missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure while President Volodymyr Zelensky sought European and US support. At an EU summit in Brussels, he asked for €70 billion in additional support for 2027, including for defence, weapons and resilience; EU leaders asked the European Commission to examine ways to provide funding. Zelensky also said Russia had attacked Ukrainian electricity, oil and gas facilities 76 times since President Donald Trump announced an energy arrangement with Moscow, and warned that easing sanctions would encourage Russia. He later said US intelligence warnings were again reaching Ukraine, after earlier complaints that information sharing had been blocked or interrupted; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that intelligence sharing had ever stopped.
US consultations with Ukraine and planned meeting with Putin
4 sources
Ukrainian negotiators met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with a European delegation, in Miami on 10 October for six hours to discuss a possible agreement to end the war, according to a source. Zelensky later said Ukraine had proposed further meetings with the US envoys. On 20 October, Witkoff travelled to Oslo for talks with Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland, while Kushner joined remotely, according to the Norwegian government. Zelensky said after the Oslo meeting that US intelligence services were again sharing information with Ukraine. Witkoff is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Wednesday, with Kushner taking part by video link, according to a US official cited in one report. Reports differed earlier on whether the meeting would be in Moscow or St Petersburg. One report said the meeting followed the Oslo consultations and was intended to facilitate three-way talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States.