U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow early Wednesday and was welcomed at Vnukovo Airport by Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev before heading to the Kremlin. Russian state media and Reuters later confirmed that President Vladimir Putin received Witkoff for talks that lasted almost three hours. The visit comes two days before the Aug. 8 deadline President Donald Trump set for Russia to agree to a truce in Ukraine or face further U.S. measures. Trump has warned of imposing additional sanctions, including secondary tariffs aimed at countries that continue to buy Russian oil and other exports, if Moscow does not halt its offensive. Ahead of the trip, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 5. Zelensky said the pair discussed intensified Russian strikes, potential new sanctions, and planned U.S.-supplied weapons, underscoring Kyiv’s push for Washington to escalate economic pressure on Moscow. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin immediately released details of the Witkoff-Putin conversation. A brief Kremlin statement said only that the meeting had concluded, while Dmitriev wrote that “dialogue will prevail.” The lack of public progress keeps attention on whether Moscow will offer concessions before Trump’s self-imposed deadline and the threatened sanctions take effect.