Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin said, after a nearly three-hour meeting at Constantine Palace in St Petersburg with envoy Steve Witkoff — their ninth in-person meeting.

Kirill Dmitriev was also present, and Jared Kushner joined remotely by phone. The talks opened with a goodwill gesture: Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired American schoolteacher jailed for allegedly fighting for Ukraine, whom President Trump had asked the Kremlin to free.

The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, and three-way negotiations had been paused since then.

The agreement also comes just as US-Ukraine ties have frayed badly: Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia this month, Ukraine complained of disrupted intelligence sharing and Starshield satellite access, and Trump has said it is time for Ukraine to end the war or face 'a very bad thing.'

Zelenskyy told Fox News he would accept freezing the current front line in exchange for security guarantees — his clearest concession signal yet.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the next round would be technical-level talks, possibly in Abu Dhabi, focused on 'building a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends,' beginning on or after November 10.

But the Kremlin was cool about Tuesday's Oslo meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders: Ushakov said its proposals 'do not entirely satisfy us,' per Reuters reporting carried by the Star-Advertiser. Witkoff described 'some degree of momentum,' and Ukraine brought new ideas, a US official said.

Hours after the Kremlin said it was 'ready in principle' to resume talks, ballistic missiles hit Kyiv, injuring six people and damaging houses, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Russia also said it downed most of 630 drones heading toward Moscow overnight, ABC News reports.

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report — which Reuters could not verify — said Elon Musk had ordered a slowdown of the military-grade Starlink service Ukraine uses to track Russian missile strikes; Musk, Trump, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied restricting access.

Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on the terms of any deal. Putin has shown few signs of compromising on his central war aims: full Russian control of the Donetsk region, no NATO membership for Ukraine, and a comprehensive peace deal rather than a temporary ceasefire.

Ushakov also relayed Putin's claim that Russian troops are advancing everywhere and hold the 'strategic initiative' — a claim Ukraine and its European allies dispute, pointing to a virtual stalemate. Russia now controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskyy said he supports the trilateral proposal and hopes talks happen no later than early November, ideally followed by a leaders' meeting with Putin and Trump — though the Kremlin insists any Putin-Zelenskyy meeting must be painstakingly prepared first.

Beyond Ukraine, Putin offered to help Trump reach a deal with Iran and to supply fertilizer to US farmers, and a possible Trump-Xi meeting in China next month was discussed. European leaders, meanwhile, will discuss financing Ukraine's €70 billion unmet 2027 needs at a November 26-27 summit.