Former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “get moving” on securing a ceasefire in Ukraine, as his envoy Steve Witkoff held a lengthy meeting with the Russian leader in St. Petersburg on Friday.
According to the Kremlin, the four-hour meeting—Witkoff’s third with Putin this year—centered on “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement.” Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev described the talks as “productive,” though he cautioned against expecting immediate breakthroughs. “The process of normalising relations is ongoing,” added Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Trump, expressing frustration over the slow diplomatic progress, took to social media to voice his concerns. “Russia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war,” he wrote.
The former president has repeatedly claimed that the war in Ukraine would not have occurred if he were still in office, and maintains he could end the conflict within 24 hours if re-elected.
Controversy also swirled around Trump’s other Ukraine envoy, retired General Keith Kellogg, following a report in The Times suggesting he floated a proposal to partition Ukraine as part of a peace deal. The article cited Kellogg as suggesting that British and French forces could occupy western Ukraine while Russian troops remained in the east—drawing comparisons to the division of Berlin after World War II.
Kellogg promptly denied the report, clarifying on social media: “I was NOT referring to a partitioning of Ukraine… I was speaking of a post-ceasefire resiliency force in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a visit to his hometown of Kryvyi Rih—where a Russian missile strike on April 4 killed 19 civilians, including nine children—blamed Moscow for deliberately dragging out the war. He also claimed that several hundred Chinese nationals were fighting alongside Russian forces, escalating concerns about foreign involvement in the conflict.
As diplomatic backchannels remain active but inconclusive, the human toll of the war continues to mount, adding urgency to ceasefire efforts.
