President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week for what Ukraine is calling Moscow’s “last chance” to reach a peace deal before U.S. sanctions are imposed on countries that import oil from Russia.
Trump on Sunday said Witkoff “may be going to Russia” on Wednesday or Thursday in a push to secure a ceasefire.
The president has grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ignored his pleas for a peace deal, and he moved up a deadline last week for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal or face increased economic isolation.
Trump’s latest deadline for Moscow would technically expire Friday, though he has proven flexible when it comes to imposing threatened tariffs on foreign countries.
A Kremlin spokesperson speaking to reporters Monday did not confirm or rule out a meeting between Putin and Witkoff this week.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, expressed optimism Monday that Trump would follow through.
“The Russians have burned down their railway infrastructure in the Volgograd region again,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram, referring to a fire that Russia blamed on a Ukrainian drone attack.
“Trump is also giving them one last chance to end the war with a visit from Witkoff. If the visit is not successful, there will be sanctions,” he added.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his top adviser, Andriy Yermak, also urged the U.S. and Europe to impose secondary sanctions in Telegram posts.
“Sanctions are working. The economy, geared for war, cannot withstand the pressure and relies solely on the sale of energy resources,” Yermak wrote Sunday.
“It is possible to strangle the economy with secondary tariffs proposed in the USA,” he added.
Trump has threatened to substantially increase tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian oil, which has helped keep Russia’s wartime economy afloat. China is also a major importer of Russian oil.
Trump has threatened to impose up to a 100 percent “secondary” tariff on nations that do business with Russia, in a bid to cut off crucial export revenue.
Such a move would likely shake the global oil markets and set back Trump’s efforts to strike a broader trade deal with India and China.
Some European countries also continue to import oil from Russia, though Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a key backer of sanctions, has suggested a carve-out for Ukraine’s allies.
Senate Republicans went home for August recess without moving on a Russia sanctions bill that would have empowered the president to impose up to 500 percent secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners.
Trump has suggested he does not need congressional authorization to move ahead with the sanctions.
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