US Special Envoy Meets Putin as Trump Urges Russia to ‘Get Moving’ on Ukraine Ceasefire
In a significant diplomatic development, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday for discussions focused on resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, marked the third direct engagement between Witkoff and Putin this year.
According to the Kremlin, the dialogue centered around “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement,” with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev describing the meeting as “productive.”
Former US President Donald Trump, who has remained vocal about the conflict, posted on social media, urging Putin to “get moving” on a ceasefire, citing the heavy toll in human lives. “Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war,” Trump stated.
The diplomatic talks come amid growing speculation about the United States’ evolving position on Ukraine, particularly following a controversial report by The Times quoting Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg. The report suggested Kellogg had floated the idea of dividing Ukraine into zones controlled by Western troops and Russian forces, likening it to post-WWII Berlin.
Kellogg quickly refuted the report on social media, stating that his comments were taken out of context. “I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine,” he emphasized, adding that he was proposing a “resiliency force” to support Ukraine after a ceasefire.
While the White House and Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the controversy, the Kremlin remains cautiously optimistic. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said expectations for immediate breakthroughs were low, adding, “The process of normalising relations is ongoing.”
Ahead of his meeting with Putin, Witkoff also held talks with Dmitriev at the Grand Hotel Europe during a conference on stainless steel and the Russian market. Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, recently visited Washington, becoming the highest-ranking Russian official to travel to the US since the war began in 2022.
Meanwhile, European nations pledged €21 billion ($24 billion) in fresh military aid to Ukraine. Despite this support, European defence ministers acknowledged that there is no end to the conflict in sight.
On the ground, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the site of a recent Russian missile strike in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, which killed 19 civilians, including nine children. In an emotional address, Zelensky accused the Kremlin of using foreign nationals in combat, alleging that “at least several hundred” Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia.
“This means Russia is clearly trying to prolong the war even by using Chinese lives,” he stated.
As diplomatic efforts continue, the world watches closely, hoping for an eventual resolution to a war that has already claimed countless lives and reshaped global geopolitics.
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US Special Envoy Meets Putin as Trump Urges Russia to ‘Get Moving’ on Ukraine Ceasefire