WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he saw encouraging signs after speaking by phone with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and meeting US representatives in Oslo, Norway. His comments came as President Trump declared that the time had come to secure a peace agreement and end the war with Russia, now in its fifth year.
Zelensky told reporters Tuesday that his conversation with Rubio began during the early-morning train journey to Oslo. Their discussion covered several sensitive matters, including Starlink connectivity, interceptor missiles and intelligence-sharing — resources Kyiv considers essential to its defense.
During a broader meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Zelensky said he was assured that Ukraine would receive “strong” security guarantees as part of any future peace arrangement.
According to Zelensky, Witkoff plans to present those guarantees to Russian negotiators in a written document on Wednesday. Jared Kushner, another US special envoy, took part in the discussions remotely.
A US official told The Post on Tuesday that the American envoys hoped to put forward a framework for a “new and enduring security architecture between Russia and Europe,” along with the possibility of renewed economic cooperation after the war.
The official said Witkoff would also press Moscow over the detention of Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old American citizen being held in a Russian prison.
“These discussions remain fluid, and substantial work remains,” the official said. “President Trump’s objective is clear: to end the killing, bring the war to a close, and establish the conditions for a lasting peace that benefits Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and the United States.”
Earlier this month, Witkoff and Kushner held talks in Florida with Ukrainian intermediaries. Those meetings focused on Kyiv’s push for US and European security guarantees, Ukraine’s eventual path toward European Union membership and a long-term financial recovery plan for the country, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
The source said stronger economic protections for both sides of the conflict could help create the conditions needed to address the most difficult issue: disputed territory.
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Trump’s already strained relationship with Zelensky deteriorated further after Ukraine reported interruptions affecting Starshield, the satellite internet network operated by SpaceX with US government authorization. The disruption triggered renewed political accusations in Washington over who was responsible.
Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials alleged that access to Starshield had been restricted, with speeds reportedly dropping from more than 100 miles per hour. They said the problem disrupted the Ukrainian military’s ability to conduct drone missions.
Trump, members of his administration and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have rejected claims that the service was intentionally slowed. They have also denied that Washington deliberately interrupted intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.
Rubio said Tuesday that any failure to provide intelligence intended to help Ukraine anticipate Russian strikes “was not the result of any sort of US directive not to provide advance warning of a strike.” He added that the United States was continuing to issue Kyiv the same warnings it had provided previously.
Trump argued that the United States had already contributed heavily to Ukraine’s war effort without receiving anything in return beyond “grief, death” and enormous financial costs.
“We’ve given incredible amounts of equipment and military, primarily military equipment, but equipment of all kinds. And it’s time,” Trump said Tuesday. He insisted that Zelensky should agree to a deal, arguing that Ukraine’s president could have reached a better agreement two years ago after a much-discussed meeting in the Oval Office with Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other officials.
A proposed energy cease-fire announced by Trump between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky has already unraveled. Ukraine’s leader resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries after Russian strikes, describing the operations as retaliation.
Trump also floated the idea of a three-way summit involving the United States, Russia and China — a format that would leave Ukraine outside the room.
Later Tuesday, Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to avoid striking vulnerable parts of Russia’s energy infrastructure if Moscow agreed to stop attacking Ukraine’s energy sites. “Putin said no. But we’re working to find a solution,” he wrote on X.
Zelensky said Kyiv had developed a clear path toward negotiations and was coordinating closely with its European allies. He urged the United States to take those proposals to Russia, including the possibility of a future trilateral meeting among the leaders to resolve issues that only heads of state can settle.
