Trump Envoy to Meet Putin in Moscow Amidst Renewed Ukraine War Concerns
Moscow, russia – American envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, Tuesday, in a bid to negotiate a potential agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting comes as Russian forces have made their largest territorial gains in a year, capturing 701 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in November, according to analysis from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP). This advance is the second largest since November 2024 (725 km2) and outside of the initial months of the conflict in spring 2022.
Russia has also claimed the capture of the strategically critically importent city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, a key logistical hub, and Vovchansk in the northeast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the shifting dynamics of battlefield gains but has not confirmed the full extent of the claimed losses.
The Biden management expressed cautious optimism about the potential for progress in negotiations, despite what it described as the continued “intransigence” of Putin, over three years after the launch of the Russian offensive. “The American president and his team ‘have worked very hard on this issue and all sincerely want to see this war end,'” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated Monday.
The effort to secure a negotiated settlement is unfolding against a backdrop of growing European anxieties. Kaja Kallas, head of diplomacy for the European Union, warned Monday that the coming week would be ”crucial” for ukraine, expressing fears that pressure would mount for Kyiv to concede territory as “the surrender of ukraine is the easiest way to end this war.”
Zelensky is currently engaged in a diplomatic push, having recently visited France and Ireland, where he received assurances of continued support from Prime Minister Micheal Martin. The European concern stems, in part, from anxieties that a potential future Trump administration might adopt a more conciliatory stance towards Russia, possibly jeopardizing UkraineS position as a bulwark against Russian expansionism.
