Donald Trump has claimed the end of the Ukraine war could come in weeks, despite his deadline for Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire running out in a matter of days.
The US President insisted “great progress” had been made between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president following a three-hour meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.
Mr Witkoff had travelled to Russia in an attempt to convince the Russian president to sign a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
Afterwards, Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social: “Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
He made no mention of the further tariffs he had promised to impose on Russia if they had not met his Friday deadline. However, a White House official told Reuters that secondary sanctions “are still expected to be implemented”.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the talks were “useful and constructive”, adding that the two sides had exchanged “signals” on the Ukraine issue.
He said they discussed the possibility of developing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington, but Mr Ushakov declined to give more details until Mr Witkoff had reported back to the US president.
Mr Trump has grown significantly frustrated with the Russian president in recent weeks and has given him until this Friday to make progress toward peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions.
Mr Putin is widely thought to be unlikely to yield to Mr Trump’s ultimatum, believing he is winning the war and that his military goals outweigh potential benefits from better US ties, according to sources close to the Kremlin.
It comes as the US president ramped up pressure on India over buying Russian oil imports, which it refines and exports elsewhere.
China and India are among the largest buyers of Russian crude, which forms the cornerstone of Moscow’s war coffers and economy. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal.
The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbour 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.
US Secretary of State Mark Rubio said he is hopeful of making announcements later on Wednesday on whether potential sanctions against Russia would still proceed this week.
“Maybe positive, maybe not,” he said after calling Mr Witkoff, who was on his way back from Russia.
Mr Trump also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, by phone following the meeting.
It is not clear what Russia might offer to Mr Witkoff to stave off the US president’s threat, but Bloomberg reported that the Kremlin might propose a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine.
Although this would offer some relief to both sides, it falls short of the full ceasefire that Ukraine and the US have been seeking for months.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Mr Zelensky, said that a full ceasefire and a leaders’ summit were required.
“The war must stop and for now this is on Russia,” he said on Telegram.
Since direct peace talks resumed in May, Russia launched its heaviest airstrikes of the war while Ukraine has continued to target Russian refineries and oil depots.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately striking a gas station to disrupt preparations for winter heating – an attack which Russia claims was targeting military-related infrastructure.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said the strike on the station near the Ukraine-Romania border was directed “purely against civilian infrastructure” and targeting relations with Azerbaijan, the US and European partners.
“If the Russians are allowed to strike at our energy infrastructure and gas routes with impunity, then no infrastructure facility in Europe will be safe,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister Svitlana Grinchuk said.
“Impunity only expands terror. That is why Russia must be held accountable for what it has done.”
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces hit a recreational centre in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said
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,” Mr Zelensky said.
Elsewhere, the Russian and Chinese navies have practised hunting and destroying an enemy submarine in the Sea of Japan, Russia’s defence ministry said.
It comes days after Donald Trump said he had moved two US nuclear subs closer to Russia.
Russia said the exercise involved Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft and Il-38 planes from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, as well as helicopter crews.
