New sanctions against Russia will still kick in on Friday, the White House said, even as President Donald Trump praised a meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “highly productive” on Wednesday.
“The meeting with Russia and Special Envoy Witkoff went well. The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States. The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday,” a White House official said.
Trump wrote on social media that “great progress was made,” adding that he has already updated some of America’s European allies.
The meeting, which Russian state media said lasted around three hours, took place after a frustrated Trump imposed a deadline on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire or face tough secondary sanctions, hitting countries that buy Russian oil with a 100% tariff.
Oil and gas revenues are a key source of cash for the Kremlin, making up roughly a quarter of Russia’s government budget, so losing customers would be painful – and could hurt Moscow’s ability to finance the its war on Ukraine.
The Kremlin had earlier described the meeting between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin as “constructive and useful,” according to Russian state media TASS.
“Putin conveyed some signals to the United States on the Ukrainian issue. Corresponding signals were also received from President Trump,” state media outlet RIA Novosti reported, citing the Kremlin.
The Kremlin said it would release more information on what was discussed after Witkoff reports back to Trump, RIA said in a post on social media.
Speaking earlier on Wednesday, just after getting off the phone with Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN that there would be announcements “fairly soon.”
Trump has been in contact with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to him after Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Trump also spoke with Zelensky on Tuesday, ahead of Witkoff’s trip, to discuss potential US sanctions against Russia.
Earlier in the day, the US envoy was greeted at the airport in Moscow by Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Video later posted by the Kremlin showed Witkoff shaking hands with Putin ahead of their meeting.
Trump has grown increasingly impatient with Russia’s resistance to his peace efforts. Since the last meeting between Witkoff and Putin in April, Russia has ramped up its assault on Ukraine, attacking cities with an onslaught of missiles and drones.
Trump has called Russia’s attacks “disgusting” and has accused Putin of peddling “bullsh*t” in their tense phone conversations.
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, Trump said that he would wait for the outcome of the talks to decide whether or not to impose new sanctions on Russia.
“We’re going to see what happens,” the president said at the White House. “We’ll make that determination at that time.”
Hours after the meeting in Moscow, Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on India as punishment for its imports of Russian oil, according to a document posted on the White House website.
Trump earlier this week threatened India with the new tariffs, saying they were helping Russia wage war in Ukraine.
“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” he wrote on social media.
As diplomacy was underway in the Kremlin, Ukraine was once again left reeling following a spate of Russian attacks across the country overnight into Wednesday.
At least six people were killed in strikes carried out by Moscow in the 24 hours before Wednesday morning, including the deadly bombing of a recreation center in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on the center, where two people died and four children were among the 12 wounded, as having “zero military sense,” calling it “just cruelty aimed at instilling fear.”
A gas compressor station that helps Ukraine receive US and Azerbaijani energy imports was also attacked overnight, according to the country’s energy ministry.
The gas transmission facility in the town of Novosilske, which is close to the border with Romania in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, was targeted by dozens of strike drones, the ministry said.
“Hundreds of families were left without gas,” Zelensky said in a statement. “This was a deliberate blow to our preparations for the heating season – absolutely cynical, like every Russian strike on our energy infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine also said Wednesday morning that the US State Department has signed off on a $200m deal which will allow its partners to purchase military supplies on its behalf, including technical support for heavy artillery. The US has not yet commented.
On Tuesday, Zelensky welcomed pledges from NATO members worth more than $1 billion, through an initiative in which four of Ukraine’s European allies – the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden – will purchase US-made weapons for Kyiv.
This story has been updated with developments.
