US envoy Witkoff in Moscow today before sanctions deadline

(Patria) - US envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with the Russian leadership in Moscow today, as President Donald Trump's deadline for imposing new sanctions over the war in Ukraine approaches.

Trump has given Russia until Friday to stop its offensive in Ukraine or face new penalties. The White House has not outlined specific actions it plans to take on Friday, but Trump has previously threatened to impose "secondary tariffs" targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India.

The move would aim to choke off Russian exports but risk significant international disruption.

Trump said on Tuesday he would wait for the outcome of talks in Moscow before proceeding with any economic retaliation.

"We'll see what happens," he told reporters.

"We'll make that decision then."

A US official did not specify whether Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Witkoff has met several times before, would participate in the meetings.

Despite Washington's pressure, Russia has continued its attack on its pro-Western neighbor. Three rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to make progress on a possible ceasefire, and the two sides appear further apart than ever.

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support.

Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week urged his allies to advocate for "regime change" in Moscow.

Nuclear rhetoric

In recent weeks, Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Moscow's offensive. When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff's message to Moscow would be and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid sanctions, Trump replied: "Yes, reach an agreement where people stop getting killed."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that he considered talks with Witkoff "important, significant, and useful" and appreciated the US efforts to end the conflict.

Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said on Friday that he wanted peace but that his demands for an end to Russia's nearly three-and-a-half-year offensive remained unchanged.

Russia has repeatedly called on Ukraine to effectively cede control over four regions that Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv calls unacceptable. Putin also wants Ukraine to abandon its ambitions to join NATO.

The visit comes after Trump stated that two submarines he had deployed after an online spat with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were now "in the region".

Trump did not say whether he meant nuclear-powered submarines or those armed with nuclear weapons. Nor did he elaborate on the deployment locations, which the US military keeps secret. Russia, in its first comments on the deployment on Monday, called for "caution".

"Russia is very careful about the issue of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric," Peskov said.