This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
US President Donald Trump said his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on August 6 or 7 — the last days before his new deadline for Russia to take steps to end the war or face sanctions targeting oil exports.
Trump had said earlier he would send Witkoff to Moscow following his current trip to Israel but did not provide a specific itinerary.
Speaking to reporters on August 3, Trump again warned that he would impose sanctions if Moscow does not agree to a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine by August 8.
“There’ll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions,” Trump said. “They’re wily characters and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we’ll see what happens.”
The secondary tariffs would likely target China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian oil.
Kyiv and Moscow have been trading strikes ahead of the deadline set by Trump.
In the most recent attack, three people were killed in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, Governor Ivan Fedorov said late on August 3.
Stepnohirsk, a town only a few kilometers from the front line, was attacked, Fedorov wrote on Telegram, adding that two men, ages 40 and 50, and a woman, 58, were killed. Private homes were also destroyed, he said.
Russian authorities in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi said Ukrainian drones set a regional oil depot on fire early on August 3. It took more than 120 firefighters to extinguish the flames. Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin said there were no injuries.
In the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv, a Russian missile strike destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure, the regional governor said on August 3. At least seven civilians were reported injured in the attack.
Deadline Moved Up
Trump has been pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire and an end to the war, now in its fourth year.
Trump announced on July 14 that Putin had 50 days to end the war or Russia would face severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports, but he later moved the deadline up to August 8.
This corresponded with a deadly week for civilians in Ukraine, including a July 31 attack on Kyiv involving more than 300 drones that killed at least 31 people. Ukrainian forces also increased strikes on Russian infrastructure.
Russian authorities said the drone attack on the Sochi oil refinery was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend targeting energy and military installations in the southern Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza, and Voronezh.
US Deploys Nuclear Submarines
The escalating attacks and the approaching deadline for a deal come as Trump said on August 1 that he had deployed nuclear-capable submarines to the “appropriate regions.” Trump said he had decided to reposition the nuclear submarines “closer to Russia” because of “highly provocative statements” by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The US president did not specify whether these were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines.
Asked later by reporters why he ordered the submarine movement, Trump said that “a threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we’re going to protect our people.”
Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, accused Washington of playing a “game of ultimatums” in response to Trump’s announcement that he shortened the deadline for the Kremlin to accept a cease-fire, writing that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war.”
Putin has not publicly responded to Trump’s latest deadline. He has periodically claimed to be interested in peace but only on terms wholly unacceptable to Kyiv.
Trump has recently voiced frustration with Putin after initially appearing more conciliatory toward striking a deal with Moscow following his return to office in January.
The US president has since said that he believes Putin is not negotiating in good faith and last week described Russia’s continued attacks on civilian areas as “disgusting.”
