Trump sends envoy to Kremlin to document Russia’s refusal to end war — Ukrainian official

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, made the statement on Espreso TV.

"Mr. Trump plays by the rules of global politics, unlike Putin. That’s why, before taking any ‘ballistic’ action, he sends someone to record Russia’s refusal to end the war. That’s why Witkoff took a walk in the park with Dmitriev in Russia — a completely non-influential figure. What happens next — we’ll see," said Podolyak.

According to him, Russia wants secondary sanctions to be discussed but not actually imposed.

"First, the Kremlin doesn't want sanctions to be imposed. They want India — which buys large volumes of Russian oil and resells it — to keep doing so. They also want China — which today almost single-handedly keeps the Russian economy functioning — to continue its support. And for that, secondary sanctions need to be discussed, but not actually enforced.

Secondly, it is a delaying tactic. Russia wants to get a window of opportunity to continue scaling up its attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine and build up its resources on the front line, including with the help of North Korean resources," Podolyak noted.

The advisor to the head of the President's Office also added that the Kremlin would be ready for some dialogue — as it was three months ago at the first meetings between Witkoff and Dmitriev, when they discussed non-existent projects: joint sales of Russian gas, trading houses controlled by American companies, Arctic projects, and the return of American oil giants to the development of Russian fields, which are quite poor from a technological point of view.

“Will it make any difference? No, it's all fiction. But Russia wants to buy time, so it will play along with these negotiations. And Trump is doing the right thing by sending his special representative to maintain the status quo,” Podolyak emphasized.

• On July 29, the U.S. president announced that he had reduced the deadline for Putin to conclude a ceasefire in Ukraine to 10 days.
• U.S. President Donald Trump stated on July 31 that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will make another visit to Russia. Trump called Russia’s July 31 attack on Ukraine “disgusting.”
• U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday.
• On Wednesday, August 6, U.S. President Donald Trump's special representative, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow, where he soon met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.