Putin to Meet US Envoy Witkoff Amid “Optimistic” Deal Hopes

MOSCOW: The diplomatic push to end the Ukraine conflict accelerates today as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow. The high-stakes meeting comes after the White House expressed strong optimism about finalizing a US-backed peace agreement.

Witkoff, who has been working with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and outside adviser Jared Kushner on the diplomatic track, held two days of recent negotiations with Ukrainian officials in Florida to refine the draft peace plan.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Monday that the draft peace deal had “been very much refined,” adding, “I think the administration feels very optimistic,” and “we’re hopeful that this war can finally come to an end.”

Despite the positive US outlook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the prior talks as “constructive” but acknowledged there were “some tough issues that still have to be worked through.”

Speaking in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky identified the “territorial issue is the most difficult” element. The Kremlin continues to push for Ukraine to cede control over eastern territories—a demand Kyiv has consistently vowed to reject.

The initial US-Russia draft circulated last November caused significant consternation in Kyiv and Europe due to its heavily favorable stance toward Moscow’s demands, which also included dictating the terms for investing frozen Russian assets and setting Ukrainian market access conditions.

Macron stressed that there is currently “no finalised peace plan to speak of,” and firmly insisted that any final proposal must involve input from Ukraine and Europe, particularly on issues of security guarantees and the status of frozen assets.

The talks in Moscow take place just hours after Russian officials claimed major military advances, including the capture of the key strategic town of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) in eastern Ukraine and the border town of Vovchansk.

However, Ukrainian officials have not acknowledged these claims, and open-source intelligence monitoring the front lines suggested neither city had yet been fully captured. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s center for countering disinformation, suggested the military claims were aimed at ensuring maximum pressure is placed on Ukraine within the US peace plan framework.