Trump Says Envoy Witkoff May Travel To Russia In Coming Week

US President Donald Trump said his special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia on August 6 or 7 -- the last days before his new deadline for Russia to take steps to end the war or face sanctions targeting oil exports.

Trump had said earlier he would send Witkoff to Moscow following his current trip to Israel but did not provide a specific itinerary.

Speaking to reporters on August 3, Trump again warned that he would impose sanctions if Moscow does not agree to a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine by August 8.

"There'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions," Trump said. "They're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens."

The secondary tariffs would likely target China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian oil.

Kyiv and Moscow have been trading strikes ahead of the deadline set by Trump.

In the most recent attack, three people were killed in Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, Governor Ivan Fedorov said late on August 3.

Stepnohirsk, a town only a few kilometers from the front line,was attacked,Fedorov wrote on Telegram, adding that two men, ages 40 and 50, and a woman, 58, were killed. Private homes were also destroyed, he said.

Russian authorities in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi said Ukrainian drones set a regional oil depot on fire early on August 3. It took more than 120 firefighters to extinguish the the flames. Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin said there were no injuries.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv, a Russian missile strike destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure, the regional governor said on August 3. At least seven civilians were reported injured in the attack.

Trump has been pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire and an end to the war, now in its fourth year.

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