Trump's envoy meets Putin ahead of Russia-Ukraine peace deadline, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with US President Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday the Kremlin said days before the White Houses deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oilThe Kremlin did not immediately provide more details of the meeting Earlier Witkoff took an early morning stroll through Zaryadye Park a stones throw from the Kremlin with Kirill Dmitriev the Russian presidents envoy for investment and economic cooperation footage aired by TASS showedDmitriev played a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months as well as discussions between Russian and US officials The negotiations made no progress on ending the threeyear war following Russias invasion of its neighbourTrumps deadline for Putin ends on Friday Washington has threatened severe tariffs and other economic penalties if the killing doesnt stopTrump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russias escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war The intensified attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relentOvernight from Tuesday to Wednesday Russian forces hit a recreational centre in Ukraines southern Zaporizhzhia region killing two people and injuring 12 including two children regional Gov Ivan Fedorov said WednesdayRussian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombsThere is zero military sense in this strike Only cruelty to intimidate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on TelegramRussia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and heating gas facilities Zelenskyy said as Ukraine makes preparations for winterWestern analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukrainian land A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last years push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major citiesThe situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defences are not about to collapse analysts sayOn Tuesday Trump said Well see what happens regarding his threat to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow Trump said Were going to see what happens Well make that determination at that timeThe president said that he has not publicly committed to a specific tariff rateStepping up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin risks stoking international tensions amid worsening RussiaUS relationsThe Washingtonbased Centre for European Policy Analysis warned in an assessment this week that there are clear signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a broader confrontation with NATO including a military buildup along Russias western flank with alliance countries in recent yearsPutin has strengthened Russias military ties with China North Korea and Iran NATO meanwhile said Tuesday it has started coordinating regular deliveries of large Western weapons packages to Ukraine European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment they plan to transport from the United States The Trump administration is not donating any arms to UkrainePutin has given no hint that he might be ready to make concessions Instead the Russian leader and senior Kremlin officials have talked up the countrys military strengthPutin announced last week that Russias new hypersonic missile which he says cannot be intercepted by current NATO air defence systems has entered serviceFormer Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meanwhile warned that the Ukraine war could bring Russia and the US into armed conflict Trump responded to that by ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarinesKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday welcomed Witkoffs visit We consider talks with Witkoff important substantive and very useful he saidTrump initially gave Moscow a 50day deadline but later moved up his ultimatum as the Kremlin continued to bomb Ukrainian citiesHowever Trump himself doubted their effectiveness saying Sunday that Russia has proven to be pretty good at avoiding sanctionsTheyre wily characters he said of the RussiansThe Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbour have had a limited impactUkraine maintains the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscows war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them upThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday 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