I am disappointed in, but not finished with (Vladimir) Putin, said Donald Trump in an interview with BBC in July.
Since then, the situation has hardly improved. President Putin has consistently rejected demands for a ceasefire and instead intensified the war in the neighboring country with even more extensive air strikes against cities and offensives along the front lines.
Trump has called the actions "disgusting" and accused Putin of "nonsense".
Short deadline
The American president has moved two nuclear submarines closer to Russia. He has also reduced the deadline for Russia to agree on a peace agreement with Ukraine from 50 to 10-12 days - otherwise, further American sanctions await.
This means that the deadline expires at the end of this week.
- We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We'll see what happens. We make that decision then, said Trump on Tuesday according to CNN.
On Tuesday, Trump also spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about potential economic sanctions against Russia, according to media.
According to information to Financial Times, Trump is considering sanctions against the Russian so-called shadow fleet.
Meet Putin?
Steve Witkoff's visit takes place at the request of the Kremlin. The American will meet with Russian leaders, but it is unclear whether President Vladimir Putin will participate.
His last known visit to Russia took place in April when he met the president. Those talks did not bring any breakthrough to put an end to the Russian war of aggression, which has been going on for over three years.
During last year's election campaign, Donald Trump claimed several times that he could put an end to the Ukraine war in 24 hours - a statement he later backed down from and described as "sarcastic", according to AP.
