A top Russian official is in Washington this week for meetings with the Trump administration, as negotiations continue on a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Kirill Dmitriev, an economic envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has become a key player in talks about the conflict, at the White House, according to media reports.
Mr. Dmitriev, who runs his country's sovereign wealth fund, is one of the most senior Russian officials to visit the US since the Ukraine invasion started in 2022. The meeting will happen days after President Donald Trump said he was "very angry" and "pissed off" with Putin over the state of negotiations. A reporter with CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has reported the meeting could happen on Wednesday, the same day Trump has planned to unveil his tariff plan during a White House event. Reuters has also reported the meeting is expected then.
In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump also threatened to hit Russia's economy if a deal wasn't soon reached. Trump specifically took issue with comments made by Putin that attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility, although Trump has made similar digs. Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine within a month, as well.
The world is bracing for the tariff plan that Trump has pledged to unveil on what he has dubbed "Liberation Day". Major details on the tariffs, including how high they are or what countries could be targeted, are still unclear, but leaders and consumers are preparing for possible trade wars and higher prices.
According to the US Treasury Department, they temporarily lifted sanctions against Mr. Dmitriev so he could visit the US. Commenting on the original report of the visit by CNN, Mr. Dmitriev wrote on X that "resistance to US-Russia dialogue is real", but improved relations between the countries could be "what the world needs for lasting global security and peace".
Moscow has said President Zelensky has stayed in power beyond the end of his term and is therefore not a valid negotiating partner. But Kyiv counters that elections were put on hold when martial law was declared and the country struggled in the chaos of a war now entering its fourth year.
More than 100,000 people from Russia's military have died since the country launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, according to data analysed by BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers who have been counting deaths since the war began. It currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.
Vladimir Putin is set to send his top negotiator to Washington in a bid to win back the favour of Donald Trump, who is reportedly angry at the Russian autocrat. Washington officials have acknowledged that Putin is resisting attempts to strike a ceasefire and discussed what economic or diplomatic punishments could push Russia closer to a deal, the sources said.
It comes following Mr. Trump’s explosive reveal that he was "p***** off" with Putin and would look to unleash oil tariffs on Russia if they did not take peace talks seriously. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s Kyiv-born and US-educated envoy, will meet with Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff this week, Reuters reported.
Responding to the reports on X, Mr. Dmitriev said: "The resistance to US–Russia dialogue is real—driven by entrenched interests and old narratives. But what if improved relations are exactly what the world needs for lasting global security and peace?" On Tuesday, two senior Washington sources told Reuters that a peace deal does not seem imminent, despite US efforts.
Meanwhile, half of the US Senate - including 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats - has united to propose sanctions on Russia if it refuses to engage in good faith negotiations with Ukraine. A US visit by Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev is "possible", the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Contacts between Moscow and Washington are continuing, a Kremlin spokesperson added.
In the backdrop of these diplomatic maneuvers, the situation in Ukraine remains dire. At least one person was killed and several injured, including an infant and a 7-year-old boy, in Russia's overnight drone attacks on Ukraine, regional officials said early today. A 45-year-old civilian was killed, and two injured in a strike on a settlement near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region. An infant, a child, and six other civilians were injured in a Russian drone attack on Kharkiv.
Russian forces unleashed an hour-long barrage of drones on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, late on Wednesday, triggering a number of fires but causing no casualties. "In the space of just one hour, the enemy deployed 17 (Iranian-designed) Shahed drones," Oleh Syniehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Ihor Brusylo, spoke on national television to say they have handed evidence to the US about Russia violating a "The energy ceasefire... which Ukraine and the United States agreed upon, was violated by the Russian side. All the necessary information was transferred to the American side. I think the reaction will not be long in coming, because even American partners who were diplomatically disposed towards the possibility of ensuring such a ceasefire are running out of patience," he said.
In a related development, Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that a minerals deal that Ukraine and the US are negotiating doesn't mention his country's NATO membership in the future. "As for this agreement and the NATO question, there is no mention of NATO in this agreement, and there never was," Mr. Zelensky said, confirming earlier reports. "A decision (regarding the deal) will be made in the coming days."
As tensions simmer, two people have been arrested after allegedly plotting to blow up a police station in the western city of Lviv on Russian instructions, Ukrainian authorities said. The suspects were carrying out the "instructions of a Russian representative in exchange for a monetary reward", Ukrainian prosecutors said.
