Nordic Leaders Call Putin Ahead of November Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi

Finland's President Alexander Stubb and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the two leaders' offices confirmed. The conversation came ahead of planned trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Those talks are scheduled for November in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

The call was arranged in consultation with Ukraine, according to the statements released by Oslo and Helsinki. It followed an Oct. 20 meeting in Oslo. That gathering brought together Stubb, Støre, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. The two Nordic leaders said they were speaking only for their own countries and not on behalf of Europe as a whole.

Stubb described the conversation as frank and substantive. He noted that Finland and Norway border Russia, and that the war's outcome will directly affect security in his country and across Europe. Stubb added that ending the war requires direct discussions. Støre said the war carries enormous human and material costs, and that the destruction will be felt by future generations. He said he stressed the need for de-escalation during the call.

The call occurred as a localized ceasefire took hold Tuesday in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region. Russian and Ukrainian officials confirmed the pause in fighting began at 3 a.m. The truce was brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump to allow an aid mission into the city. Up to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, where food and medical supplies are running low. Drones and land mines have restricted movement in the area.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that there have been no reports of violations of the Oleshky ceasefire. The truce is set to last through Saturday, or longer if required. Its geographic scope was not clearly defined, though it centered on Oleshky and nearby parts of the Kherson region. Oleshky sits across the Dnipro River from Kherson, the regional capital, about 340 miles southeast of Kyiv.

In Kherson, city officials reported a quiet Tuesday. Only Russian reconnaissance drones appeared in the sky. Yaroslav Shanko, head of the Kherson city administration, said he does not trust Russia to hold the pause. He said his drone detector, which normally sounds constantly, has gone silent. Shanko said city crews will use the lull to perform utility work that is usually too dangerous because of drone activity.

Russian missiles struck Kyiv and Kharkiv on Monday night and Tuesday morning. In Kyiv, a Russian ballistic missile damaged the grounds of a university Monday, killing one person and injuring 10. In Kharkiv, attacks Monday night killed two people and injured four. Zelenskyy wrote in an online post that the world should see Russia's desire to continue waging war.

The Oleshky aid mission is planned ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations expected in November. Negotiators said doctors, medicines, food and water will be delivered to Oleshky before evacuation corridors open. The United States has not announced a date for those talks.