Russian President, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff have held talks in Moscow.
The visit on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, is Witkoff’s fifth trip to Moscow in his capacity as Trump’s lead negotiator with the Kremlin, and comes as Trump has begun to talk tough on Russia for the first time since taking over the presidency.
On Monday, Putin’s Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said that he Kremlin was looking forward to Witkoff’s visit and valued talks with him. “We consider them important, substantive and very useful,” he said.
Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and was pictured taking an early morning stroll through a park in central Moscow with Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy who has played a key role in negotiations so far.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on social media on Wednesday, shortly after Witkoff landed in Moscow, that it is very important to “strengthen all the levers in the arsenal of the United States, Europe, and the G7 so that a ceasefire truly comes into effect immediately.”
He added that Ukraine sees the political will, appreciates the efforts of “our partners, of America, and of everyone who is helping.”
Zelenskyy has said he wants to meet with Putin in a leaders’ summit moderated by either Trump or Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey to discuss a negotiated settlement, but the Kremlin has so far dismissed the idea.
Instead, it has sent a low-level delegation headed by the former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky to a series of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. The last round of talks, in July, broke down after less than an hour.
Ukraine Deadline Approaches
Witkoff’s meeting with Putin came two days before a Friday deadline US President, Donald Trump set for Russia to reach a peace deal in the Ukraine war or face fresh sanctions.
Trump cut short an earlier 50-day deadline to Putin, claiming he saw no desire in the Kremlin to change its behaviour and calling recent strikes that killed civilians in Kyiv “disgusting.”
He has now promised to introduce secondary tariffs on countries that import Russian oil if no progress is made by Friday.
After Trump made the threat of further sanctions, the former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev claimed the harsh rhetoric could lead to a direct conflict between Russia and the US. In response, Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned.
Putin has given little indication that he is ready to make concessions or willing to adjust Russia’s core war aims.
However, reports by Bloomberg and the independent Russian news outlet, the Bell have suggested that the Kremlin could propose a halt to long-range strikes by both sides as an offering to Trump.
Both Trump and Kyiv have been calling for a full and unconditional ceasefire, to allow negotiations to begin, but a halt to long-range strikes could offer welcome breathing space to both sides.
Ukraine has hit Russian energy and military infrastructure with long-range drones, and caused aviation chaos in Russia as airports are forced to close during the drone attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian missile and drone strikes against different Ukrainian cities continue on an almost nightly basis. Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, a recreational centre in the southern Zaporizhzhia region was hit, killing two people and injuring 12, according to the Regional Governor, Ivan Fedorov.
On some nights Russia sends up to 500 long-range kamikaze drones into Ukraine, and 72 people have been killed in Kyiv alone since May.
Trump’s Ukraine Envoy, Keith Kellogg, is also expected to visit Kyiv in coming days although no firm date has yet been set for the trip.
