US resumes sharing missile intelligence with Ukraine, says Zelenskiy

The US has resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv on Russian missile strikes, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday after a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway.Zelenskiy said Ukraine was again receiving advance warnings of ballistic missile attacks, which were apparently suspended last week by the White House. “Now it works. It’s great,” he said, saying the US move would save lives.He added: “It’s very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic [missiles] is coming. So we are thankful to the American side.”The talks in Oslo took place amid the worst crisis in US-Ukraine relations since Russian president Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. US president Donald Trump has bitterly accused Zelenskiy of failing to end the war and has said Ukraine needs a new leader.Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joined Witkoff and Zelenskiy by video. Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, also took part, alongside EU and British security officials.Witkoff was to travel on to Russia following the talks to present the ideas developed in Oslo to Putin, a US official said. The Trump envoy is also expected to seek the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired American schoolteacher who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than four years.[ Trump’s pressure campaign on Zelenskiy enters a decisive phaseOpens in new window ]Hubbard, who is in his 70s, was captured by Russian forces in Izyum in eastern Ukraine in April 2022, where he had lived for several years, while the city was under occupation.He was sentenced to almost seven years’ imprisonment, accused of fighting on behalf of Ukraine – charges which Hubbard’s lawyer has denied.Hubbard was deemed wrongfully detained by the US government in 2025.Previous hostage deals have often involved the US or other western governments releasing convicted Russians in exchange.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia and the US were “in contact” over their citizens detained in each other’s countries. “Dialogue is ongoing through intelligence channels,” he said, commenting on Hubbard’s possible release.Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a joint press conference after a meeting with Norway's prime minister and Finland's president on the situation in Ukraine. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images Kushner has flu currently but participated in the Oslo talks virtually, according to the official.The talks come as tensions between presidents Trump and Zelenskiy have spiralled, reaching their lowest point since their public spat in the Oval Office last year.Trump has leaned heavily on Ukraine to end its long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries in a bid to ease global diesel prices ahead of midterm elections next month.“We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. They’ve given nothing to us,” Trump said on Monday.The Oslo talks were expected to build on a meeting in Miami earlier this month, which was attended by US, Ukrainian and European officials.The discussions were focused on two parallel tracks, according to the US official.The first is centred on securing Ukraine’s long-term future through security guarantees, closer integration with Europe and a postwar economic plan to support reconstruction and investment.The second seeks to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace with Russia, including proposals for a new European security architecture while exploring opportunities for postwar economic co-operation with Moscow.European officials are also eager to ensure that they have a voice in the talks after several moves by Trump, which have alleviated pressure on Putin.Earlier this month, the US president announced that he had struck a deal with Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel in a bid to tame energy prices, while on Friday he opted not to impose further sanctions on Moscow’s war economy as mandated by new legislation passed last month.Unexplained restrictions on the use of the Starlink communications system caused dismay in Ukraine, where terminals are used to fly drones targeting Russian positions beyond the frontline as well as interceptors designed to destroy Russian long-range drones.Washington denied throttling the Starlink system in Ukraine, but Zelenskiy insisted last week the restrictions were part of a “planned operation”. - Copyright Guardian/The Financial Times Limited 2026