U.S. Envoy Witkoff heads to Russia for high-stakes Ukraine ceasefire talks with Putin
In a swift move, U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff is heading back to Russia for another crucial meeting with President Putin today. This development was initially reported by Axios, supported by data from the air traffic monitoring service FlightRadar
This marks the third meeting between Putin and Witkoff in 2025. The main agenda is to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine and draft an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Last week, former President Trump expressed dissatisfaction with how the ceasefire negotiations were proceeding.
However, he recently acknowledged progress, although this sentiment is reportedly not shared by Ukraine.
Experts caution that if Putin does not agree to a truce by the end of April, Washington is prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia. During a NATO foreign ministers’ summit in Brussels, Senator Marco Rubio emphasized that U.S. patience is finite and urged Putin to respond swiftly.
Last week, Witkoff engaged in discussions with Putin’s representative, Kirill Dmitriev, in Washington. They reviewed the situation in Ukraine before Dmitriev returned to Moscow to brief Putin. According to sources, the Kremlin is only prepared to cease hostilities at sea, all while putting forth a set of demands.
The U.S. and Russia also agreed yesterday on a new prisoner exchange involving American and Russian citizen Kseniya Karelina. Trump disclosed that Karelina is the partner of a UFC fighter who personally appealed for Trump’s help.