Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump plans to meet with Putin next week, says report – UK Times

Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, according to the New York Times, who cited two people familiar with the plan.

The President then plans to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders.

India accused the US of making “unjustified” and “unreasonable” threats after Donald Trump vowed to raise levies on the South Asian country for purchasing Russian oil.

The US president said on Monday that India was profiting from discounted Russian crude while disregarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Arpan Rai explains how much Russian oil India buys:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it appears that Russia is more inclined towards agreeing a ceasefire following their talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit in Moscow.

“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the US,” he said in the nightly address.

US president Donald Trump said Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Vladimir Putin was “highly productive”.

US envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow went well, a White House official said, but added that Washington still planned to proceed with secondary sanctions on Friday.

“The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States. The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday,” the official said.

Mr Witkoff met Mr Putin for around three hours on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough.

The Russian rouble and markets held their breath on Wednesday as they awaited the outcome of President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The rouble was flat at around 80 to the dollar, according to data compiled by LSEG based on over-the-counter quotes.

It weakened by 0.2% against China’s yuan at the Moscow Stock Exchange. Russia’s main stock market index was down 0.15%.

Many analysts believe that the rouble is overvalued and awaiting a trigger to weaken.

The Russian currency rallied by up to 45% against the dollar earlier this year, partly thanks to expectations of a thaw in the relationship between Russia and the US as well as hopes for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

Kremlin earlier said that Russia had developed an immunity to sanctions thanks to long experience. However, the latest round of US sanctions against a Russian bank, which handled payments for energy, imposed last year, led to the rouble’s slide.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he is hopeful of making announcements later on Wednesday on whether potential sanctions against Russia would still proceed this week.

Rubio said he has spoken to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is on his way back from a trip to Russia, and would have more discussions throughout the day.

“We’ll have more to say about that later on today,” Rubio said when asked if sanctions on Russia would go into effect later this week, adding that there would hopefully be some announcements soon.

“Maybe positive, maybe not.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited troops near the front line in northeastern Ukraine’s Sumy region.

“I thanked the soldiers for their service and the results that the Kursk operation brought thanks to them, and awarded them with state awards,” he said on Telegram.

“We will always be grateful for your service to Ukraine. And we will always honor the memory of all who gave their lives for our country.”