U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow, state-owned Russian media reported Wednesday, days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil.
Witkoff took an early morning stroll through Zaryadye Park, a stone’s throw from the Kremlin, with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, footage aired by TASS showed.
Dmitriev played a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and U.S. officials. The negotiations have made no progress on ending the three-year war following Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
Moscow is yet to confirm whether Witkoff will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his fifth visit to Moscow. Trump’s deadline for Putin ends on Friday. Washington has threatened “severe tariffs” and other economic penalties if the killing doesn’t stop.
Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia’s escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war. The intensified attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relent.
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces hit a recreational center in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said 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.
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 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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