White House envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a last-ditch effort to convince him to make peace in Ukraine or face punishing new economic penalties by Friday.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House envoy Steve Witkoff held “ useful and constructive ” talks in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov. The roughly three-hour session aimed to secure a last-minute breakthrough to end the Russia-Ukraine war before threatened U.S. sanctions go into effect on Friday.