Putin tells Witkoff he backs mid-November three-way talks in principle

According to an AP report published by Military.com, the meeting took place at the Konstantin Palace, with Ushakov and Russian investment envoy Dmitriev at the table and Jared Kushner joining by video link. Ushakov first said the proposals from the 20 October talks in Oslo had little real value. He later told state television that, while not fully satisfied, they saw 1 step in the right direction. Norwegian Prime Minister Støre expects the three-way talks in mid-November. A US official said Witkoff and Kushner had proposed a 3-way meeting at technical level.

After the meeting, Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen held for more than 4 years, was released; Witkoff called it a goodwill gesture. Kyiv Post, citing the state agency TASS, says Witkoff thanked Putin on Trump's behalf for his decision on the diesel deal, and post-war US–Russia economic relations were also discussed. According to the same report, Lavrov said on 21 October that Moscow would hear out US proposals but make no political concessions. Zelenskiy announced on 20 October in Norway that Ukraine and the US had agreed a package of proposals that includes security guarantees.

Attacks continued on the ground. Kyiv Independent says a drone attack on Kyiv on the morning of 21 October killed at least 2 people, injured 2 and set fire to the 20th floor of a 24-storey building. AP reported 3 dead and 12 injured in overnight attacks on Kyiv; the two sources may be counting different time windows. Russia said it downed 373 Ukrainian drones the same night. AP recalls that the January and February rounds in Abu Dhabi and the February round in Geneva produced nothing beyond prisoner exchanges.