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| Trump envoy to visit Moscow this week before deadline for ending Ukraine war | Trump envoy to visit Moscow this week before deadline for ending Ukraine war |
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| Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow before US president’s Friday deadline after which new sanctions could be imposed | Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow before US president’s Friday deadline after which new sanctions could be imposed |
| Donald Trump’s special envoy is expected in Moscow days before the US president’s deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine or face increased US sanctions. | |
| Trump said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin could do to avoid new sanctions, the US president answered: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.” | |
| In Kyiv, there is little expectation that Witkoff will make a breakthrough with Putin, but a hope that Trump’s changed rhetoric and tougher stance on Moscow may lead to a real change in US support for Ukraine. Sources in Kyiv said they expected Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, to visit the country towards the end of the week, possibly to coincide with Witkoff’s visit to Moscow. | |
| Trump came into office convinced he could do a deal with Putin, but in recent weeks appears to have become increasingly frustrated with Russia’s actions. On Thursday he described its continued attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine as “disgusting” and on Sunday said that two nuclear submarines that he ordered to be deployed after online threats from the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now “in the region”, without giving further details. | Trump came into office convinced he could do a deal with Putin, but in recent weeks appears to have become increasingly frustrated with Russia’s actions. On Thursday he described its continued attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine as “disgusting” and on Sunday said that two nuclear submarines that he ordered to be deployed after online threats from the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now “in the region”, without giving further details. |
| Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on social media: “The concept of peace through strength works.”He added that the appearance of the submarines had silenced Medvedev, whom he described as “one Russian drunk who had just been threatening nuclear war on X”. | |
| Trump had initially announced in July a 50-day deadline for Russia and Ukraine to end the war, but said last week he no longer believed Russia was serious about ending the war and shortened it to “10 or 12” days, later clarified as this Friday, 8 August. | |
| Trump has previously said the new measures he has in mind if the deadline is not met could involve “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s remaining trade partners, such as China and India. | Trump has previously said the new measures he has in mind if the deadline is not met could involve “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s remaining trade partners, such as China and India. |
| Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said if Russia did not change its course by Friday, Kyiv would expect the “irreversible logistics” of secondary sanctions on Russian oil exports to be set in motion. | Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said if Russia did not change its course by Friday, Kyiv would expect the “irreversible logistics” of secondary sanctions on Russian oil exports to be set in motion. |
| “After that he’ll look whether this is helping to bring about the end of the war or not, and if not then he will move to the next step,” said Podolyak, in an interview in Kyiv. | “After that he’ll look whether this is helping to bring about the end of the war or not, and if not then he will move to the next step,” said Podolyak, in an interview in Kyiv. |
| The next move, he said, could be further sanctions, and the increased militarisation of Ukraine. “Trump has already said he’s ready to sell Europe as much weapons as they want [to pass to Ukraine]. Before he didn’t say that … This is already a different conception of the world,” he said. | The next move, he said, could be further sanctions, and the increased militarisation of Ukraine. “Trump has already said he’s ready to sell Europe as much weapons as they want [to pass to Ukraine]. Before he didn’t say that … This is already a different conception of the world,” he said. |
| Before that, though, all eyes will be on Witkoff’s visit to Moscow. On previous trips, he has held long one-on-one meetings with Putin and has spoken of his warm feelings for the Russian leader. On one occasion Putin gifted him an oil painting of Trump, on another, Witkoff arrived without an interpreter and used a Kremlin-provided translator. | Before that, though, all eyes will be on Witkoff’s visit to Moscow. On previous trips, he has held long one-on-one meetings with Putin and has spoken of his warm feelings for the Russian leader. On one occasion Putin gifted him an oil painting of Trump, on another, Witkoff arrived without an interpreter and used a Kremlin-provided translator. |
| The camaraderie has left both Kyiv and other US allies wondering whether Witkoff is capable of delivering harsh messages to Moscow, although his visit this week will be the first since Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine became noticeably harsher. | The camaraderie has left both Kyiv and other US allies wondering whether Witkoff is capable of delivering harsh messages to Moscow, although his visit this week will be the first since Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine became noticeably harsher. |
| The Kremlin said on Monday it was “always happy to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow” and a meeting with Putin was possible, the spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He described talks with Witkoff as “important, substantive and very useful”. | |
| Putin said on Friday that he was in favour of “a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries”. | Putin said on Friday that he was in favour of “a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries”. |
| Despite periodically making such statements, Putin has also made clear that Russia’s maximalist war goals remain essentially unchanged, demanding as a minimum control over four Ukrainian regions to which Moscow has laid claim, and a commitment that Ukraine will never join Nato. | Despite periodically making such statements, Putin has also made clear that Russia’s maximalist war goals remain essentially unchanged, demanding as a minimum control over four Ukrainian regions to which Moscow has laid claim, and a commitment that Ukraine will never join Nato. |
| Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine have taken place in Turkey, with the third round in Istanbul last month, but the last set of talks broke down in less than an hour and the only substantive outcome from the meetings has been a series of agreements on prisoner exchanges. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that a new exchange agreed at the last meeting in Istanbul would result in 1,200 Ukrainian troops returning home. | Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine have taken place in Turkey, with the third round in Istanbul last month, but the last set of talks broke down in less than an hour and the only substantive outcome from the meetings has been a series of agreements on prisoner exchanges. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that a new exchange agreed at the last meeting in Istanbul would result in 1,200 Ukrainian troops returning home. |
| Zelenskyy has said he wants to meet directly with Putin, with Trump or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a mediator, but the Russian president has said he sees no point in a meeting until the outline of a ceasefire has been drawn up. However, the delegation he sent to Turkey, led by the former culture minister and patriotic author Vladimir Medinsky, suggests the Kremlin is not serious about a deal. | Zelenskyy has said he wants to meet directly with Putin, with Trump or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a mediator, but the Russian president has said he sees no point in a meeting until the outline of a ceasefire has been drawn up. However, the delegation he sent to Turkey, led by the former culture minister and patriotic author Vladimir Medinsky, suggests the Kremlin is not serious about a deal. |
| “Those countries who thought Russia was ready for talks, and that the war could end at any moment if Ukraine would only agree to negotiations, they can now see that Russia is not ready for any real talks,” said Podolyak. | “Those countries who thought Russia was ready for talks, and that the war could end at any moment if Ukraine would only agree to negotiations, they can now see that Russia is not ready for any real talks,” said Podolyak. |
| Russia continues to target Ukraine with almost nightly drone and missile attacks. Last week was one of the deadliest for some time in terms of civilian casualties, with one set of attacks on Kyiv killing 31 people, including five children. | Russia continues to target Ukraine with almost nightly drone and missile attacks. Last week was one of the deadliest for some time in terms of civilian casualties, with one set of attacks on Kyiv killing 31 people, including five children. |
| Both sides continue to target infrastructure in the opposing country with drones. Russia’s ministry of defence said on Monday that its air defences had intercepted 61 Ukrainian drones overnight. | Both sides continue to target infrastructure in the opposing country with drones. Russia’s ministry of defence said on Monday that its air defences had intercepted 61 Ukrainian drones overnight. |