Zelensky finishes Witkoff talks in Norway as US intelligence resumes amid Starlink row

Talks in Norway

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has finished talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway. The meeting came after a sharp rift between Kyiv and Washington. Zelensky said Ukraine wanted peace more than anyone and that it was Russia's choice to keep the killing going. He also said the flow of American intelligence for early warning of incoming Russian missiles was back online. He thanked the American side and said the warnings mattered for children, adults and civilians who need to hear when a ballistic missile is coming. Witkoff is due in Moscow in the coming days to brief Russia's president on Ukraine's position and Europe's position.

Starlink and intelligence row

Before the meeting, Zelensky had said the Starlink communication system was still not working at normal speeds. His military adviser said the interruption was costing Ukrainian lives and that people had already died. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the suggestion that Washington had deliberately withheld information. He called claims that people in Ukraine were dying because the US was denying information scandalous and outrageous. Rubio said any failure to detect strikes on the 13th and again on the 18th was a technical matter, not a US directive, and that the same warnings were being provided. Ukrainian officials have said they believe the intelligence problems and the Starlink speed restriction are deliberate pressure. Reporting on the Starlink and Starshield restrictions has described confusion over who ordered them. One assessment said the Trump administration initially restricted the service, then looked for a face-saving rollback after political fallout. A former US ambassador to Ukraine said that if Rubio's denial was true, the systems should be turned back on at full speed. He said there had been no credible explanation for the slowdown.

Civilian toll

Russia kept up missile and drone attacks across Ukraine during the day. At least nine people were killed and energy infrastructure was targeted. A drone strike near a park in the Kharkiv region killed six people, including a one-year-old girl, Angelina, and her mother, who died later in hospital. Three people were killed in a strike on a highway south of Kyiv, including the driver of a bus taking people to a war memorial cemetery. Residential buildings in Kharkiv and a hospital in Kyiv were hit. Almost 100 civilians have been killed in Ukraine in the last two weeks. This year is on course to be the deadliest for civilians since the war began.

Trump remarks and Republican backlash

President Donald Trump said Russia had, in his words, 'frankly been fine on Ukraine' and 'haven't been doing much'. He again said he wanted Zelensky replaced, suggesting it might be time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate. The remarks were widely seen as pressure on Kyiv to accept unfavourable conditions in any meaningful peace talks. A former US ambassador to Ukraine said Trump's comments were impossible to understand and saddening. He accused the administration of giving carrots to Russia and sticks to Ukraine, including a sanctions waiver, diesel fuel, a G20 invitation and the possible return of frozen Russian assets. He said this damaged US national security and leadership. Senior Republicans, including Don Bacon and Brian Fitzpatrick, have warned they could block Pentagon funding unless the White House gets tougher on Russia. A congressman on the foreign affairs committee, Johnny Olszewski, said such a block was possible. Republicans and Democrats on a call with Zelensky tried to reassure him and heard his worries about waived sanctions and continuing Starlink problems, despite Rubio saying nothing had been blocked. European and British diplomats described a blame game rather than a grand strategy. One source said the White House had urged Ukraine not to attack energy targets during the midterms and was angry about diesel prices; Ukraine carried on and Trump lashed out. Diplomats are watching the midterms closely, with some hoping the shift is a blip and others saying it is a pattern. A former US ambassador under George W Bush said Rubio understands Russia is an adversary, but the administration contains voices that are clueless about the danger Russian aggression poses to the US. He warned that if current policies last, everyone including Putin will assume Nato is a paper tiger.