News Desk : US special envoy Steve Witkoff has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, as former President Donald Trump’s deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine draws near.

The meeting, which lasted around three hours, took place on Wednesday after Witkoff arrived in Russia earlier in the day, according to Russian state media.

Trump has warned that Russia could face severe secondary sanctions, targeting countries that continue to trade with Moscow, if it fails to take concrete steps to end what he has called the “horrible war” in Ukraine. The deadline he set for progress falls this Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the prospect of tougher US sanctions, stating that Russia would only move seriously toward peace when its financial resources begin to dwindle. He also supported measures to impose tariffs on nations purchasing Russian oil.

Photos released by Russian outlets showed Witkoff and Putin smiling and shaking hands in a lavishly decorated hall at the Kremlin. The two have met on several previous occasions during recent diplomatic efforts.

However, expectations for a breakthrough by Friday remain low. Despite the mounting pressure, Russia has continued its large-scale aerial bombardments across Ukraine.

Just days before the meeting, Kyiv reported a deadly Russian strike on a holiday camp in the central Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12. “There is no military logic to this attack—only cruelty, aimed at terrorising civilians,” Zelensky said.

The Kyiv City Military Administration also confirmed that the death toll from a recent missile attack on the capital has risen to 32, following the death of a man from his injuries. It marks the deadliest assault on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion began over three years ago.

Before taking office in January, Trump repeatedly claimed he could end the war “in a day.” That promise has not materialised, and his frustration has grown as progress has stalled. His rhetoric toward Moscow has since hardened.

“We thought we had the war settled several times,” Trump said last month, “and then President Putin goes and launches rockets into a city like Kyiv, killing many people, some in a nursing home, or elsewhere.”

Three rounds of indirect talks between Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Istanbul have so far failed to bring the conflict closer to resolution. Moscow’s demands, such as the recognition of occupied territories and Ukraine’s neutrality, remain unacceptable to Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Kremlin has also repeatedly rejected Ukrainian requests for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Meanwhile, the US administration approved an additional $200 million in military sales to Ukraine on Tuesday, following a phone call between Zelensky and Trump. The two leaders discussed further defence cooperation, including joint efforts on drone production.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on drone strikes to target Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure, while Russia has intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Source: BBC