Russia just got handed a Ukraine peace plan drawn up without Zelensky in the room
1 hour ago · 20 October 2026Share
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff meets with members of a hostages families forum in Tel Aviv on May 13th 2025. File photo. U.S. Embassy Jerusalem · CC BY 2.0
He's Donald Trump's special envoy. And he's going for Ukraine peace talks.
Then he's flying to Russia. To try to meet Vladimir Putin in person.
So here's who's in Oslo. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's President. Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway's Prime Minister. Plus representatives from Britain, France, Germany and Poland. And officials from the EU and NATO.
Jared Kushner was meant to be there too. He's Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. But he's got the flu. So he's joining by video instead.
Now here's the part that matters.
After Oslo, Witkoff goes to Moscow. He wants to hand Putin a set of ideas. Ideas built together with Ukraine and Europe over the past week.
So the shape is simple. Talk to Ukraine and Europe first. Then take the result to Russia.
And that shape tells you something. Because of who isn't in the second room.
Zelensky gets Oslo. He does not get Moscow. His input is in the proposal. But the conversation about whether Russia accepts it happens without him in the room.
A US official told Axios that Trump quote "has directed an intensive process to develop a comprehensive peace proposal with Ukraine and Europe".
So that's the White House calling this a test. Not a deal.
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The skyline of Norway's capital city, Oslo, in 2024. File photo. Sunderland Renaissance · CC BY-SA 4.0
The same official says there are two tracks. One is Ukraine's long-term security and its path into Europe. The other is a lasting peace with Russia, with a new security set-up and economic cooperation after that.
This didn't start this week either. Witkoff and Kushner called Zelensky two days ago to check where things stood. That call followed weeks of meetings at Witkoff's club in Florida. Zelensky had already agreed there to keep working on proposals toward a deal.
But the run-up to Oslo has not been friendly.
Over the past two weeks, Trump waived sanctions on Russia. He told Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries. He said Zelensky should be replaced at the table. He even called Russia's actions fine.
Ukrainian officials say Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, has not signed off on a batch of Patriot missile interceptors. Ukraine's allies already paid for them. Ukraine thinks it's being used as leverage. NATO says deliveries are still going ahead. A different US official disputes Ukraine's version.
Zelensky has offered something too. He told Bloomberg he proposed pausing Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. In exchange for more Patriot missiles.
So both sides are trying to trade something. Before anyone even sits down with Putin.
Russia's position comes through Dmitry Peskov, who speaks for the Kremlin. He says Russia values American mediation. But he says any final settlement needs someone in Kyiv prepared to take responsibility for it. Russia has not responded directly to the Witkoff trip itself.
One more thing is expected to come up in Moscow. The release of Stephen Hubbard. He's an American detained by Russia since 2022. Axios calls him a retired teacher the US says was wrongfully held. The Kyiv Independent reports he had served with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in Izium. Either way, his release is on the agenda.
Here's what we don't know. Whether Putin has even agreed to see Witkoff. Reuters, which first reported the trip, says the schedule is tentative. It could still change. The White House has not commented.
So Ukraine gets Oslo. Russia gets Moscow. And by America's own description, the test is whether anything agreed in the first room survives into the second.
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