MOSCOW, Aug 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met US envoy 
Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, two days ahead of a 
deadline imposed by US President Donald Trump on Moscow to halt its Ukraine 
offensive or face fresh sanctions.

Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking 
office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face 
new penalties.

But three rounds of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul have failed to 
make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart.

Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its pro-Western 
neighbour to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.

The Kremlin published video of Putin shaking hands with Witkoff in the 
Kremlin before the talks. But it provided no further details.

Ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Washington 
to up its pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.

- Sanctions threat -

The White House has not outlined specific actions it would take against 
Russia, but Trump has previously threatened to impose "secondary tariffs" 
targeting Russia's key trade partners, such as China and India.

The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant 
international disruption.

Trump said Tuesday that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before 
moving ordering any economic retaliation.

"We're going to see what happens," he told reporters. "We'll make that 
determination at that time."

Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed "threats" to 
hike tariffs on Russia's trading parters as "illegitimate".

Russia's more than three-year campaign on Ukraine has killed tens of 
thousands of people, destroyed swathes of the country and forced millions to 
flee their homes.

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western 
support if it wants the fighting to stop.

Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Zelensky last week urged his 
allies to push for "regime change" in Moscow.

"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. Ukraine sees the political will, appreciates the efforts of our 
partners, of America, and of everyone who is helping," Zelensky wrote on 
social media on Wednesday after Witkoff landed in the Russian capital.

- Nuclear rhetoric -

Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin in recent weeks over 
Russia's unrelenting offensive.

Russia fired a record number of long-range drones at Ukraine in July, AFP 
analysis of data from Kyiv's air force showed.

Its troops have also accelerated their advance on the ground and pushed into 
parts of Ukraine that Russia has not claimed to have annexed.

Ukrainian officials reported Wednesday at least two people were killed and 10 
others wounded in Russian night shelling of a holiday camp in the southern 
Zaporizhzhia region.

When reporters asked Trump on Monday what Witkoff's message would be to 
Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid sanctions, Trump 
replied: "Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday it considered the talks with 
Witkoff to be "important, substantial and helpful" and valued US efforts to 
end the conflict.

The visit comes with tensions running high between Moscow and Washington.

Trump said he had deployed two nuclear submarines following an online row 
with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now "in the region."

Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed 
submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, 
which are kept secret by the US military.

Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged "caution" Monday.

Moscow then said it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable 
intermediate-range missiles, suggesting it could deploy such weapons in 
response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking 
distance of Russia.