Published on August 6, 2025, 18:22 EST – Just two days before a major ceasefire deadline, President Donald Trump has signaled a possible Ukraine breakthrough after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a “highly productive” meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
-Following the three-hour talk, Trump announced on Truth Social that “great progress was made” and later told European leaders he plans to meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy soon.
-This potential de-escalation comes after weeks of rising tensions, though it remains unclear what concessions, if any, were made during the meeting.
A Peace Deal Coming Soon for Ukraine?
It was known going into this week that President Donald Trump had set a Friday deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, or else face punishing “secondary tariffs,” in the form of restrictions on the countries that buy oil from Russia.
There didn’t appear to be much indication that Russia was going to back down anytime soon. But Trump envoy Steve Witcoff was scheduled to go to Moscow on Wednesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And Trump has a history of backing down from deadlines, especially when it appears progress has been made.
After the meeting on Wednesday, it appears that there may have been some.
“Great Progress”
“My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
A Donald Trump-Ukraine War Summit?
In addition, the New York Times reported on Wednesday afternoon that Trump has told European leaders that he plans to meet with both Putin and Zelenskyy soon. It is not clear, however, whether the two leaders have agreed to any such meeting, or where such meetings would take place.
“Mr. Trump disclosed his plans in a call with European leaders on Wednesday, the people said,” The Times said of what Trump said in the call. “The meetings would include only those three men and would not include any European counterparts. The European leaders, who have tried to play a coordinating role on meetings to end the violence between Russia and Ukraine while supporting their European neighbor, appeared to accept what Mr. Trump said, one of the people familiar with the call said.”
Zelenskyy was on the call with the European leaders, although Putin was not.
A Meeting in Moscow
A separate Times piece looked at what took place in the meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, which was Witkoff’s fifth meeting with Putin since the start of the second Trump presidency.
Only limited details were shared.
“Russian news agencies said the meeting lasted about three hours, but there was little immediate clarity about how it went. Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, called the meeting ‘very useful and constructive,’” the Times said.
Bloomberg News had reported earlier in the day that Russia might propose a temporary bombing moratorium.
“The Kremlin is weighing options for a concession to US President Donald Trump that could include an air truce with Ukraine to try to head off the threat of secondary sanctions, even as Russia remains determined to continue its war,” Bloomberg reported, before the Wednesday meeting, although it’s not clear if this proposal was discussed in Moscow Wednesday.
The meeting, however, did not prevent Trump from following through on Wednesday afternoon on additional tariffs on India, which were tied, in a White House statement, to India’s purchase of oil from Russia.
In a document called “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation,” the White House announces that it is building on a pair of executive orders, from the Biden era, directed towards Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
“I have received additional information from various senior officials on, among other things, the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to the situation in Ukraine,” the document says. “After considering this additional information, among other things, I find that the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066 continues and that the actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
More Military
America Almost Had to Invade Japan
Swamplaw Yankee
August 7, 2025 at 1:34 am
Wow. The Putin brain trust and the tsarling himself have re-watched the Fellini film “81/2” five times. Which clown scene does the tsarling’s muscovite elite laugh at the most? The reality is that Yankee America went sour on the 3 ring circus business and forced the Circus professionals to sell off the whole long-to-puchase train that moved circus elephants.
Yeah, American parents had a real “summit” when they counted their change to get all the kids tickets to the 3 ring clown slap stick artists.
Now, the op-ed promises ( threatens) a real Weirdo Whackooff slimey slime comedy scam will come to the 3 ring POTUS circus near you!
The EU is not invited, as the EU may wish to free the enslaved elephants right in the White House.
The two topics of eternal concern seem to be avoided by the MAGA POTUS Trump. The illegal theft of ancient Ukrainian soil and children is the first. As the POTUS Obama’s Democrat Cabal in 2014 unilaterally greenlighted the WEST’s loss of Ukraine’s geopolitical advantage of owning the Crimean soil, families and the Black/Azov Sea zones to the prime cold war enemy of the WEST: tsarling Putin.
The 2025 POTUS must “Demand” of Putin the immediate return of all illegally occupied Ukraine. n land! Ukrainian soil is not Trumps to give away as if he was the second Obama. Once the orc basement butchers process + realize that all that rich farm land is not theirs to steal, the half of the impetus to genocide Ukrainians will vanish in 2 days. Poof the re-start of the genOcide falters.
Second: The 2025 POTUS Trump must demand that Putin pre-pay $10,000,000 in gold bullion to each and every Ukrainian mass abducted victims as compensation and reparations for the last 11 years of table top dancing, ruskie style.
Still Second: Until Putin comes up with a pre-payment deposit of #10,000,000 in US bullion for the first 25,000 Ukrainian children, the Whacckkoof Weirdo slimey clown show need not put on its MAGA supplied clown shoes.
Can we safely bet big that POTUS Trump is cognitively unable and, worst, incapable of demanding the 2 above points from Putin in public? Some pundits claim that Putin has a unholy hold on Trump as if Trump was a walk on in the 8 1/2 Fellini movie.
If Trump wants to endorse the 2014 Obama moral turpitude with a 2025 MAGA POTUS stamp of approval, well, he can self-slit his own throat in public.
The role of the EU is so tragic in this venue. The EU needed to evoke a leader of the WEST, a leader to protect the interests of the WEST. Now, the candidate individuals became cheap vassals and enter Trump thralldon.
Every Stalinist and commie=pinkoe shill for the rump ruskie federation of slavery will be shilling in print and seen on tape shilling for the commie position.
” Demand some vague “Peace” and, then, give me that free gas Station, factory or dacha that the orc basement butchers just seized from a Ukrainian family”.
The USA dithered away in the past Tibet, China, Cyprus, etc, etc. Now, the ancient + democratic Ukrainian people have a hovering unsuitable, ineffective POTUS who demands to be “chief ” + secret negotiator. Trump needs to be told his duty is not to BLAB bull code words to save Orc Ruskie lives, but to demand the return the stolen Ukrainian Land AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
-30-
topol
August 7, 2025 at 7:38 am
No point in having a summit when the nazis absolutely refuse to leave Donbass.
Better to use the time and energy to solve the Epstein list controversy or brouhaha instead.
Nearly seventy percent of people think there’s a big cover-up over the Epstein list.
It is to protect wealthy and important people. People above the law.
But in Ukraine, there’s absolutely zero cover-up. The Russkies are fightin’ the nazis tooth and nail. Night and day, and also day and night.
No cover-up.