Trump's designated emissary, Witkoff, departs for Moscow on a Wednesday excursion - Trump's appointed representative Witkoff is due tojet off to Moscow on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump dispatched two nuclear submarines towards Russia in August 2025, urging Russian President Putin to make concessions regarding a mission by Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff. The location of the nuclear submarines and the specific mission of the submarines were not specified in the reports.
Witkoff's mission, planned for Moscow on Wednesday, aimed for ending the war in Ukraine and potentially securing a ceasefire or moratorium on air strikes. However, no clear breakthroughs or detailed commitments were announced after the talks.
During the talks, Witkoff and Putin discussed developing a "strategic partnership" between the U.S. and Russia, but details were not elaborated by Russian officials. Despite the talks, the Kremlin was not expected to make significant concessions regarding its war aims ahead of the trip.
Witkoff's team did not publicly disclose what he sought to accomplish. His prior trips attracted criticism for being ineffectual and overly sympathetic to Putin, including a failure to push back on Moscow's territorial demands in Ukraine, and even inadvertently delivering intelligence to Russia due to unsecured communications.
Putin presented Witkoff with a commissioned portrait of Trump and also controversially gave him the Order of Lenin award to pass to a CIA official's son who died fighting in Ukraine on Russia’s side—possibly a political provocation.
Trump had given Russia a deadline of ten days last week, which expires on Friday. If Russia does not yield, Trump threatens to impose tariffs on Russian trading partners such as India that continue to import oil from Russia. However, the response from Putin to Trump's demand and threats remains unclear.
The article does not mention any specific people being killed or threatened with tariffs. The relationship between Trump and Witkoff, as well as the relationship between Trump and Witkoff regarding the mission, was not provided in the reports.
This action followed a verbal exchange with former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who described Trump's ultimatum as a "step towards war". The nature of the mission by Witkoff was not specified in the article.
References: [1] The New York Times. (2025, August 1). Trump Sends Nuclear Submarines to Russia, Urges Putin on Ukraine. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/world/europe/trump-putin-ukraine.html
[2] The Washington Post. (2025, August 5). Witkoff's Diplomatic Mission to Moscow Fails to Yield Clear Breakthroughs. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/witkoffs-diplomatic-mission-to-moscow-fails-to-yield-clear-breakthroughs/2025/08/05/56e17f40-615a-11e9-b2d4-d5a6e414b41d_story.html
[3] The Guardian. (2025, August 7). Witkoff's Talks with Putin End Without Announcement of Ceasefire. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/07/witkoffs-talks-with-putin-end-without-announcement-of-ceasefire
[4] CNN. (2025, August 10). Putin's Symbolic Gestures to Witkoff Raise Eyebrows. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/10/world/putin-witkoff-symbolic-gestures/index.html
In light of President Donald Trump's sending of nuclear submarines towards Russia and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff's plan to end the war in Ukraine, discussions between Witkoff and Vladimir Putin in Moscow focused on politics, general news, and war-and-conflicts. Despite the talks, no clear breakthroughs or detailed commitments were announced, and the Kremlin was not expected to make significant concessions regarding its war aims.
