Stakes rise in Russia-Ukraine war as Trump’s deadline for Kremlin approaches

The coming week could bring an important moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as US president Donald Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could simply melt away.

Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the middle of this week, just before Mr Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington.

Previous Trump promises, threats and cajoling have failed to yield results, and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate will be hard to clear away.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defences.

Mr Witkoff was expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Mr Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza.

“They would like to see (Witkoff),” Mr Trump said on Sunday of the Russians. “They’ve asked that he meet so we’ll see what happens.”

Mr Trump, exasperated that Russian president Vladimir Putin has not heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that officials are happy to meet with Mr Trump’s envoy.

“We are always glad to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow,” he said. “We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful.”

Mr Trump said on Sunday that Russia has proved to be “pretty good at avoiding sanctions”.

“They’re wily characters,” he said of the Russians.

The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbour have had a limited impact.

Ukraine insists the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow’s war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged the United States, Europe and other nations to impose stronger secondary sanctions on Moscow’s energy, trade and banking sectors.

Mr Trump’s comments appeared to signal he does not have much hope that sanctions will force Mr Putin’s hand.

The secondary sanctions also complicate Washington’s relations with China and India, who stand accused of helping finance Russia’s war effort by buying its oil.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has found that stopping the war is harder than he perhaps imagined.

Senior American officials have warned that the US could walk away from the conflict if peace efforts make no progress.