WASHINGTON (TNND) — Days before President Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, special envoy Steve Witkoff visited with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Last week, Trump gave Putin 10 days to end the war before he begins imposing sanctions and secondary tariffs on nations that purchase Russian oil and gas. Trump previously said the ultimatum was set for 50 days on July 14 and tariffs would be set at 100%.

The Kremlin reported the meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours.

Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's envoy for investment and economic cooperation, welcomed Witkoff to the country after playing a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and U.S. officials. Each round of talks resulted in prisoner exchanges but yielded no breakthrough in reaching a ceasefire.

“Dialogue will prevail," Dmitriev wrote on X after Witkoff's visit.

Trump's frustrations with Putin have grown in the past few months over Russia's escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine.

He said during a visit to Scotland that Putin should want to make a deal “based on common sense.”

“Instead, they spend all their money on war. They spend everything on war and killing people, and it doesn't make sense to me,” Trump said. “I thought he would want to end this thing quickly. I really felt it was going to end, but every time I think it's going to end, he kills people.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an update Wednesday morning that 12 people in the Zaporizhzhia district were injured and two people were confirmed dead.

"There is zero military sense in this strike – just cruelty aimed at instilling fear," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

He added that there were also "vicious attacks" on power grids in the Dnipro region, a drone targeting civilians in Kherson, and a strike on a gas facility in Novosilske, Odesa region.

"No matter what the Kremlin says, they will only genuinely seek to end the war once they feel adequate pressure," Zelenskyy concluded. "And right now, it is very important to strengthen all the levers in the arsenal of the United States, Europe, and the G7 so that a ceasefire truly comes into effect immediately. Ukraine sees the political will, appreciates the efforts of our partners, of America, and of everyone who is helping. And we are counting on the necessary decisions to follow."

The Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis warned in an assessment this week that there are “clear signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a broader confrontation with NATO,” including a military build-up along Russia’s western flank with alliance countries in recent years.

Putin has strengthened Russia’s military ties with China, North Korea and Iran. NATO, meanwhile, said Tuesday it has started coordinating regular deliveries of large Western weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment they plan to transport from the United States. The Trump administration is not donating any arms to Ukraine.

Putin has given no hint that he might be ready to make concessions. Instead, the Russian leader and senior Kremlin officials have talked up the country’s military strength.

Zelenskyy said Sunday that Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners following their latest round of negotiations in Istanbul in July.

“There is an agreement to exchange 1,200 people," he wrote on X, saying that the lists of individuals to be swapped were being worked on and that they were working to “unblock the return of our civilians.”

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

On Friday, Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "appropriate" regions near Russia following what he described as "foolish and inflammatory statements" made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.