Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to bow to a sanctions ultimatum expiring this Friday from U.S. President Donald Trump, and retains the goal of capturing four regions of Ukraine in their entirety,

Steve Witkoff is visiting Moscow this week - is it a sign that an agreement between Russia and the US to end the fighting in Ukraine could yet be reached?

Putin's goal is to fully capture the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Russia has claimed as its own.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that lower energy prices could influence Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and force him to end the war against Ukraine. Source: Trump in an interview with CNBC, as reported by European Pravda Details: The US president believes that lowering oil prices is enough to force Putin to end the war.

Falling oil prices could compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested in an interview with CNBC aired on Aug. 5. Russia's energy exports remain the key source of income for its wartime economy and continue to finance its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.