The announcement followed a 3-hour meeting in Saint Petersburg between Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, with Jared Kushner joining remotely. Witkoff had come from Oslo, where he met Volodymyr Zelensky to ease tensions between Kyiv and Washington. Trump called it "the closest we've been" to ending the war. Witkoff called the talks "constructive" but said "important work" remains. The Kremlin was more skeptical, saying the Ukrainian-European proposals Witkoff brought had little "substance." Moscow wants future talks to focus on post-war security. A key outcome was Russia's release of detained American Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher convicted of being a mercenary for Ukraine. Witkoff hailed Putin as a "humanitarian." Trump said he delayed sanctions on Russia to secure the release. Trump also touted a Russian diesel deal to lower US fuel prices, which angered Kyiv and Europe. Meanwhile, Putin still rejects direct talks with Zelensky and wants all of eastern Ukraine. A Putin-Trump-Xi summit in Shenzhen is also being prepared. Fighting continues: Kyiv reported 4 killed by Russian strikes, while Moscow-backed officials in Lugansk reported 2 killed by a Ukrainian drone. Zelensky said Kyiv supports resuming talks as soon as possible. (Bssnews)