United States envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Russia on Friday to meet with President Vladimir Putin about establishing peace in Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s sincerity in seeking a ceasefire is increasingly suspect after weeks of negotiating, nitpicking, and reneging on U.S. proposals already approved by Ukraine. Based on pre-meeting comments from Russian officials, this visit is unlikely to change the pattern of obfuscation.
“Russia has to get moving. Too many people [are] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
Trump is increasingly “pissed off” with the Kremlin’s continuous delays in ceasefire negotiations as Russian officials aim to drag out the war as long as possible.
The president said Friday that the conflict is a “war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were president!”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tempered expectations before Witkoff landed, telling the press the “process of normalizing relations is ongoing” and that there is “no need to expect breakthroughs.”
Russia maintains a powerful upper hand against the beleaguered and strained military of Ukraine. Russian soldiers are close to taking back the Kursk region captured by Ukraine late last year.
The longer the conflict continues, the more territory Russia can regain or capture. This strengthens its position at a future negotiating table with Ukraine, which has less and less leverage as the war continues.
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As Witkoff is in Moscow, representatives of European nations are gathered in Belgium to discuss aid to Ukraine.
Ministers from about 50 countries gathered in Brussels on Friday for the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, during which they decided to commit over $24 billion in new military aid.
The largely European effort is meant to help sustain Ukrainian defense, given the skepticism that Trump’s appeals to the Kremlin for peace will result in a ceasefire.
“Ukraine needs a strong military, and only then can the negotiation process lead to a just and lasting peace,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.