Putin meets Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff for high-stakes Ukraine peace talks

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (April 11) in St. Petersburg to discuss a potential peace agreement in Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed the talks, saying the “theme of the meeting — aspects of a Ukrainian settlement.”

State TV showed Putin welcoming Witkoff at the presidential library, with Russian media later reporting the talks lasted more than four hours. According to TASS, Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the meeting “productive.”

Trump’s warning: “Get moving”

President Trump, who has become increasingly impatient with the pace of talks, took to Truth Social to demand faster progress.

“Russia has to get moving. Too many people (are) DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war — A war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!” Trump wrote.

Trump has hinted at imposing secondary sanctions on countries continuing to buy Russian oil, a move aimed at pressuring Moscow to finalise a deal.

Disputed ceasefire and Ukrainian claims

The talks occur amid a faltering ceasefire deal. Ukrainian officials reportedly sent Washington a list of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, alleging violations of last month’s truce agreement. While Putin has said he’s open to a full ceasefire, he insists on major conditions:

Kyiv has firmly rejected these demands.

Future Trump-Putin meeting discussed

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a potential face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin was raised during the talks. While the two leaders have spoken by phone, they have not met in person since Trump’s return to the White House in January.