Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointed delegate, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin. This meeting took place just days before a critical deadline set by the White House, demanding Russia to broker a peace accord with Ukraine or else face significant economic sanctions that could affect nations purchasing its oil.
The Kremlin did not disclose further particulars of the meeting immediately. Steve Witkoff was seen earlier taking a brief morning walk in Zaryadye Park, which is situated near the Kremlin, accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian leader’s envoy focused on investment and economic collaboration, as broadcasted by TASS.
Footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff shaking hands during their meeting at the Kremlin on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, was shared.
Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Dmitriev had a significant role in facilitating three rounds of direct negotiations between delegations from Russia and Ukraine that transpired in Istanbul over recent months, in addition to talks involving Russian and U.S. representatives. These negotiations, however, did not succeed in securing an end to the ongoing three-year conflict that ensued following Russia’s incursion into Ukrainian territory.
Trump’s deadline for Putin ends on Friday. Washington has threatened “severe tariffs” and other economic penalties if the killing doesn’t stop.
President Trump has become increasingly impatient with Putin due to Russia’s intensified assaults on Ukrainian civilian zones, aimed at undermining morale and reducing public support for the conflict. These aggressive actions have persisted despite Trump’s repeated appeals to Putin in recent months to ease the hostilities.
On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian military forces targeted a leisure facility in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, resulting in two fatalities and 12 injuries, including those of two children, as reported by regional Governor Ivan Fedorov on Wednesday.
Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombs.
“There is zero military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
Russia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and heating gas facilities, Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine makes preparations for winter.
Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukraine land. A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last year’s push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major cities.
The situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defenses are not about to collapse, analysts say.
On Tuesday, Trump said “we’ll see what happens” regarding his threat to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India.
“We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens. We’ll make that determination at that time.”
The president said that he has not publicly committed to a specific tariff rate.
Stepping up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin risks stoking international tensions amid worsening Russia-U.S. relations.
The Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis warned in an assessment this week that there are “clear signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a broader confrontation with NATO,” including a military build-up along Russia’s western flank with alliance countries in recent years.
Putin has strengthened Russia’s military ties with China, North Korea and Iran. NATO, meanwhile, said Tuesday it has started coordinating regular deliveries of large Western weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment they plan to transport from the United States. The Trump administration is not donating any arms to Ukraine.
Putin has given no hint that he might be ready to make concessions. Instead, the Russian leader and senior Kremlin officials have talked up the country’s military strength.
Putin announced last week that Russia’s new hypersonic missile, which he says cannot be intercepted by current NATO air defense systems, has entered service.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, meantime, warned that the Ukraine war could bring Russia and the U.S. into armed conflict. Trump responded to that by ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday welcomed Witkoff’s visit. “We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful,” he said.
Trump initially gave Moscow a 50-day deadline, but later moved up his ultimatum as the Kremlin continued to bomb Ukrainian cities.
However, Trump himself doubted their effectiveness, saying Sunday that Russia has proven to be “pretty good at avoiding sanctions.”
“They’re wily characters,” he said of the Russians.
The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor have had a limited impact.
Ukraine maintains the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow’s war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up.
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