U.S. envoy Witkoff meets Putin in Russia as report claims Musk throttled Starlink for Ukraine

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss new proposals for ending the war in Ukraine, marking his ninth in-person visit with the Russian leader. Putin indicated Moscow is willing in principle to resume talks with Ukraine and the U.S. next month, the first such discussions since February. Russia released retired U.S. teacher Stephen Hubbard as a goodwill gesture, while Witkoff praised Putin as a humanitarian despite an International Criminal Court warrant against him. The meeting came as the Wall Street Journal reported Elon Musk ordered a slowdown of the Starshield military satellite service for Ukraine, which Kyiv says hampers its defense operations. Senator Adam Schiff called for Musk to testify, while at least four people were killed in fresh Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.