A unilateral release after Trump's request

The American freed on Putin's order is Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Trump had previously asked Putin to free Hubbard, and Russia released him unilaterally rather than as part of a prisoner exchange.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the release followed a request he had made "directly" to Putin the week before.

• The United States, Trump wrote, was not required to give anything in return
• No swap was necessary for the release, according to Trump's post

Witkoff's ninth visit and the peace papers

The release came as Witkoff, on his ninth trip to Russia since Trump tasked him with brokering an end to the war, sat down with Putin at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg. Witkoff told the Russian leader: "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that".

He also conveyed Trump's thanks for a controversial deal to resume Russian diesel exports to the US. In a televised portion of the meeting, Witkoff said: "We've brought some papers. It's really some ideas, some sort of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and you'll read that at your leisure". Putin thanked Trump and his wife, Melania, for "their attention to efforts to end the war".

The rift between Washington and Kyiv

The visit follows a rupture between Washington and Kyiv, triggered by Trump's decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and his call for Zelenskyy to be replaced after Ukraine refused to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries. Trump has called for the Ukrainian president to resign and portrayed him as the main obstacle to peace. The full-scale invasion is now in its fifth year.

• Kyiv has complained of disruptions to US intelligence-sharing and restrictions on its access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network
• The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Musk personally ordered the Starshield slowdown, while Reuters, citing sources, said the directive came from inside the White House
• Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Washington had resumed providing advance warnings of Russian missile attacks after his meeting with Witkoff in Oslo

Where the talks stand

Witkoff travelled to Russia from Oslo, where he had met Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders a day earlier to build momentum in stalled negotiations. He said there was "some degree of momentum" behind efforts to reach a peace deal, describing the talks in Oslo as "constructive".

Moscow has given little indication that it intends to end its bombardment of Ukraine as winter approaches, despite Ukrainian calls for a ceasefire including a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. Putin remains intent on his demand for full Russian control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, and suggested Moscow could significantly increase its exports of fertilisers to the American market once the war ends.

Russian officials said the first tanker carrying diesel to the US would depart on Thursday as part of an initial shipment of about 300,000 tonnes. Energy analysts and traders have questioned whether the resumption of Russian diesel imports will meaningfully ease supply for American consumers, arguing the volumes are too small to significantly ease the global supply squeeze.