Interfax
Interfax is one of the largest news agencies in Russia and the post-Soviet states, founded in 1989. It was established by a group of government bodies and newspapers during the late Soviet period as an alternative to state-controlled media. Headquartered in Moscow, it maintains a wide network of correspondents across the former USSR and abroad. The agency supplies news, analytical material, and financial information to media outlets, government institutions, and businesses.
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Witkoff brings Oslo proposals to Putin in St. Petersburg; Russia signals readiness for new trilateral talks in mid-November
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo on October 20, then traveled to St. Petersburg for a roughly three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 21. After the talks, Witkoff said Moscow was prepared to resume trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine negotiations in the second ten days of November. The St. Petersburg meeting opened with the announced release of American Stephen Hubbard, held in Russia for over four years.
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Trump announces Russia diesel deal after Putin call; Ukraine and European leaders condemn move
On 9 October 2026, US President Donald Trump announced he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to lift US sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large-scale exports to American and global markets. The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License No. 135 authorising the imports until 7 April 2027. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticised the decision, calling it a "weak" and "unfair and dishonest" birthday gift to Putin that gives Russia additional billions for the war, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the UK, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, and US Democrats all condemned or distanced themselves from the deal. Talks between Ukrainian, US and European delegations in Miami ended early after the announcement, and a senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries would continue.
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Zelenskyy discloses annual frontline figures, confirms readiness for trilateral summit with Trump and Putin
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Zelenskyy said Russia captured 890 km of Ukrainian territory in 2026 while Ukraine liberated 800 km, leaving roughly a 100 km net gain for Moscow. He also cited 270,000 Russian casualties this year and stated that "almost everything on the battlefield has stalled." Speaking after his 22 September meeting with Donald Trump in New York, Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Putin with Trump's help, while the Kremlin's spokesman said there are no preconditions for a "peace track" and repeated that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow.
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US envoys visit Kyiv for first time, signal return to trilateral talks but report no breakthrough
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Kyiv on 6 September 2026 for their first visit to Ukraine since Donald Trump's second presidential term began, after meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 5 September. They held three rounds of talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, joined in the second round by national security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and announced a planned return to the US–Ukraine–Russia trilateral format and US support for a 'winter package' of assistance for Ukraine. Zelensky reported receiving a message that 'the Russians are ready to negotiate' but remained sceptical, while the Kremlin, Bloomberg sources and the Institute for the Study of War said the Moscow talks produced no substantive concessions.
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Lavrov calls Germany's response to Leipzig drone incident "the beginning of a real war"
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Germany's reaction to an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport as "the beginning of a real war," drawing an analogy to pre-World War II diplomatic closures. Germany officially accused Russia on September 1 of orchestrating the incident, closed Russia's last consulate general in Bonn, and terminated the agreement for the "Russian House" in Berlin. Russia retaliated by announcing closures of German Goethe-Institut branches. No one was injured and Ukrainian Antonov aircraft were not damaged, though the An-124's cargo remains disputed.