US envoy Witkoff lands in Saint Petersburg for Putin talks on Ukraine
US special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Saint Petersburg on the morning of Wednesday, 21 October 2026, for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin about Ukraine. He was met at Pulkovo Airport by Kremlin economic cooperation advisor Kirill Dmitriev.
US envoy Witkoff lands in Saint Petersburg for Putin talks on Ukraine
Arrival in Saint Petersburg
The witkoff putin talks began with the US special envoy's arrival in Saint Petersburg early on the morning of Wednesday, 21 October 2026, for talks with the Russian president about Ukraine. At Pulkovo Airport he was greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's advisor for international economic cooperation.
Meetings with Zelenskyy and Nordic leaders
The visit to Russia came a day after Witkoff held discussions with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Norway and Finland.
Kremlin downplays chance of a deal
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said ahead of the discussions that he did not know whether an agreement would be reached that day.
"didn't know if any agreement will be reached today"
The comment was reported by the Russian news agency Interfax, according to the report.
Anti-corruption search at Ukraine's central bank
Meanwhile, Ukraine's anti-corruption police said detectives were searching the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine as well as the home address of one of the central bank's employees, Reuters reported. In a statement on the Telegram app, the anti-corruption police said:
- The searches covered the National Bank of Ukraine and an employee's home address
- No one had been detained or issued a suspicion notice
The National Bank of Ukraine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
