Trump says US envoy Witkoff to travel to Russia ‘next week’
United States President Donald Trump announced that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia next week to continue discussions on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump indicated that the visit is expected to take place “Wednesday or Thursday.”
When asked about potential actions Russia could take to avoid impending sanctions, Trump responded, “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.” He has previously warned of imposing “very severe tariffs” on Russia if a ceasefire with Ukraine is not reached soon.
Trump also mentioned the deployment of two nuclear submarines following an earlier dispute with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. However, he did not clarify whether these were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed vessels, nor did he provide specific details on their locations, which remain classified by the U.S. military.
These remarks follow Trump’s recent condemnation of Russia’s actions in the war, calling them “disgusting” after a Russian attack on an apartment building in Kyiv killed 31 people on Thursday. The incident marked the end of a month characterized by a record number of 6,297 long-range drone attacks on Ukraine, a 14-fold increase compared to July 2024.
In response to the conflict, Ukraine is awaiting the delivery of a U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system, a promise made by Trump. However, funding for this system is expected to come from European allies rather than the Trump administration.
Ukraine has continued its offensive operations against Russian forces, with recent attacks resulting in three deaths and a major fire at an oil refinery. A drone strike on Monday morning caused a fire at a railway station in Russia’s Volgograd region, according to regional authorities.
Despite ongoing hostilities, Russian and Ukrainian officials have engaged in several meetings in Istanbul over the past months. The most recent session led to an agreement to exchange 1,200 prisoners, as announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday. Russia has not yet issued a statement on the matter.
Witkoff, a real estate developer and Trump’s golf partner, has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times in Moscow as a White House special envoy. In addition to his role in Ukraine-related negotiations, he serves as Trump’s representative in talks between Israel and Hamas. Recently, he visited Tel Aviv, where he met with families of captives held in Gaza.
English 
Arabic 