Zelenskyy goes to Oslo for US talks as Trump tensions mount

Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg News on Oct 20, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Norway for new peace talks as U.S. pressure mounts for concessions from Kyiv to reach a deal with Russia.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also landed in Oslo to take part in the talks on Tuesday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb. Another U.S. envoy, Jared Kushner, will join online for the discussions, according to a government statement in Norway.

The meeting’s being held amid escalating tensions between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. The American president reiterated criticism of the Ukrainian leader on Monday after officials in Kyiv said they suspect the U.S. is intermittently restricting intelligence sharing despite denials from Washington, allowing Russian missiles to strike Ukraine without warning.

Zelenskyy “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and should have settled the war a long time ago, Trump told reporters. “We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. They’ve given us nothing.”

Relations between Trump and Zelenskyy have soured since the U.S. announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month for diesel supplies to American and global markets as the White House strives to cut surging fuel prices ahead of Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Trump followed that up by deferring sweeping new sanctions targeting Russian energy sales. That sparked criticism from lawmakers including in his own Republican party that he was helping Russia to continue financing the war that Putin started in February 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday that Putin is seeking not only to defeat Ukraine, but to also undermine democracy in Europe. The key condition in the war was Ukraine’s territorial integrity “and that is not to dispute,” he said.

“I’m trying to convince Donald Trump each time I’m meeting him that this should be in his own interest,” Merz said. “A stable Europe, European continent, European Union as a partner in the world is something which is worthwhile for the Americans as well.”

The Ukrainian leader spoke by video call with Witkoff and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, on Sunday to discuss the war and possibilities for new talks. Zelenskyy said in a Bloomberg News interview on Sunday that the U.S. side also planned to meet with Putin.

Zelenskyy “asked for this meeting with us to summarize where the situation now stands, and also facilitate for him to have a meeting with the American negotiators,” Støre told reporters in Oslo, referring to himself and Stubb.

The Norwegian premier said he and the Finnish president have “no assignments from other European countries” for the meeting. The two Nordic nations share a border with Russia and cooperate closely on Ukraine, while both have also avoided directly confronting the Trump administration.

A Russian strike involving 16 ballistic missiles overnight on Sunday and Monday was the third time in the same week in which Ukraine was left without the usual advance warning it receives from U.S. intelligence about incoming attacks. Ukraine has also accused the U.S. of restricting access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite technology.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday he held “constructive” talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about ballistic missile interceptors, early warning on attacks and the situation with Starshield “which needs to be restored.” They agreed to be in contact soon for an update, he said in a post on social media.

U.S. officials have rebuffed accusations of any slowdown in intelligence to Ukraine. Trump last week said he didn’t order limitations on Ukraine’s access to Starshield.

Trump said Monday that “somebody else” instead of Zelenskyy should negotiate on behalf of Ukraine. He told reporters that “Russia frankly has been fine on Ukraine — they haven’t been doing much.”