U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 25, Axios reported on April 23, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
The visit comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to broker a ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine. Washington has warned it may withdraw from the mediation process if no progress is made in the coming days.
Witkoff's trip follows a summit in Paris on April 17, where senior Trump administration officials presented a draft peace proposal to Ukrainian and European counterparts.
The plan reportedly includes recognition of Russia's illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea and barring Ukraine from joining NATO — two long-standing demands by the Kremlin.
Ukraine's response to the proposal was expected during follow-up meetings in London with European, Ukrainian, and American officials on April 23, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Witkoff declined to attend, downgrading the talks.
According to Reuters, Rubio's decision not to participate in the meetings came after Ukraine delivered a document to European partners on April 22 declaring that Kyiv would not negotiate territorial issues until "a full and unconditional ceasefire" had been achieved.
Witkoff, who serves as the Trump administration's Middle East envoy, has visited Russia several times this year and met with Putin on at least three occasions.
The envoy has drawn criticism from both U.S. and Ukrainian officials for promoting Kremlin-aligned positions, including the idea of trading Ukrainian territory for peace.
Speaking on April 22, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would not entertain any proposal that concedes sovereign territory. "This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has denied that Ukraine is being pressured to recognize Crimea as Russian. "Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory," he posted on Truth Social on April 23.
The U.S. president also went on to dismiss Zelensky's firm rejection of any recognition of Russia's control over Crimea as "harmful to the peace negotiations."
Despite Trump's repeated claims of progress, Russia has rejected a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and continues offensive operations. Putin declared a symbolic one-day Easter truce on April 19, which Ukraine reported was violated around 3,000 times.
Kyiv has separately proposed a 30-day truce focused on halting long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, which the Kremlin has said it will "look into."
While expressing frustration with Russia's refusal to de-escalate, the U.S. president has yet to impose new sanctions or take punitive measures in response to Moscow's ongoing invasion.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
