U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia this week, just days before a critical deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. Trump warned that failure to meet the deadline would trigger sweeping secondary tariffs on Russian oil exports and affect its trading partners, including China and India.

“I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday, [Witkoff] may be going to Russia,” Trump told reporters on Aug. 3. “They’ve asked that he meet, so we’ll see what happens.”

Tariff Threat Looms Over Moscow

The visit comes as the U.S. increases economic pressure on Russia. Trump reiterated that new sanctions would be imposed if no deal is reached by Aug. 8. “There’ll be sanctions,” he said, while conceding, “they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions... wily characters.”

In late July, Trump set a 10-day deadline for Russia to end the war, with measures targeting countries that keep importing Russian oil and gas — an explicit warning to China and India.

Envoy’s Role Under Scrutiny

Witkoff, previously named envoy to the Middle East, came under fire in April after a visit to Moscow where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin using Kremlin translators and reportedly echoed Russian views of the conflict. The meeting alarmed officials in Washington and abroad, who questioned his role and messaging.

Despite the backlash, Trump appears to be leaning on Witkoff again in a last-minute push to secure a breakthrough with the Kremlin — or justify new economic penalties if diplomacy fails.