U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his special envoy, real-estate executive Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday. The White House hopes the visit will advance talks on ending the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year. The trip comes just days before a 10-day deadline Trump set for Moscow to move toward a truce or face new American penalties. The president has warned that the additional measures could include “secondary tariffs” on nations that continue trading with Russia, a step that would widen the economic fallout beyond bilateral sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the planned meetings with Witkoff “important, constructive and useful,” adding that a session with President Vladimir Putin "is not excluded." Witkoff has met Putin several times since being assigned the Russia portfolio earlier this year. Trump also confirmed that two U.S. nuclear submarines he ordered forward after an online exchange with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev are now “in the region,” a show of force that underscores the heightened stakes as Washington presses for a cease-fire.