Morning opening: Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg for talks on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg early morning for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin about Ukraine, a day after holding discussions with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Norway and Finland.
Witkoff was met at Pulkovo Airport by the Kremlin’s advisor for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev.
Let’s see how much of the positive tone expressed by Zelenskyy and the two European leaders after yesterday’s talks will hold at the end of the day.
But managing out expectations, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said he “didn’t know if any agreement will be reached today,” Russian news agency Interfax said.
Elsewhere, I will be looking for updates from France and Italy, as both countries step up their response to recent protests and riots that disrupted everyday life.
Lots to cover.
It’s Wednesday, ۲۱ October ۲۰۲۶, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Republicans push back on Donald Trump’s wavering support for Ukraine
Ariana Baio
Overnight, a handful of Republicans have spoken out against Donald Trump’s softening stance on Russia, threatening to pull financial support for his agenda over his “embarrassing” handling of the Ukraine war.
Don Bacon, an outgoing congressman in Nebraska, condemned Trump’s actions – which include a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel and the pausing of sanctions on Moscow – as “absolutely disgraceful” and accused the US president of cozying up to a “war criminal” in Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart.
“It really is disgraceful, and the Republicans that I associate with, there’s a lot of us, can’t stand it,” Bacon told CNN on Monday. “I think the president’s leverage in this Congress is shot.”
Last week, Trump waived sanctions imposed on Russia through a law named after his longtime ally and late senator Lindsey Graham. The legislation, which he signed only last month, was intended to increase financial pressure on Russia, more than four years after it invaded Ukraine.
Instead, Trump announced he had struck a deal with Putin to import diesel fuel, which has become more expensive for Americans largely due to Trump’s war with Iran. Trump has previously blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russia.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption police search National Bank premises
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s anti-corruption police said that detectives were searching the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine and also the home address of one of the central bank’s employees, Reuters reported.
The anti-corruption police said in a statement on the Telegram app that no one has been detained or issued a suspicion notice. The central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Morning opening: Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg for talks on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg early morning for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin about Ukraine, a day after holding discussions with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Norway and Finland.
Witkoff was met at Pulkovo Airport by the Kremlin’s advisor for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev.
Let’s see how much of the positive tone expressed by Zelenskyy and the two European leaders after yesterday’s talks will hold at the end of the day.
But managing out expectations, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said he “didn’t know if any agreement will be reached today,” Russian news agency Interfax said.
Elsewhere, I will be looking for updates from France and Italy, as both countries step up their response to recent protests and riots that disrupted everyday life.
Lots to cover.
It’s Wednesday, ۲۱ October ۲۰۲۶, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
