White House envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a last-ditch effort to convince him to make peace in Ukraine or face punishing new economic penalties by Friday.

Trump has met in-person with Zelensky at least three times since returning to office, including a Feb. 28 meeting where he lashed out at the Ukrainian president and accused him of prolonging Russia’s invasion. The two leaders met again on April 26 on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral and in The Hague on June 25.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House envoy Steve Witkoff held “ useful and constructive ” talks in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov. The roughly three-hour session aimed to secure a last-minute breakthrough to end the Russia-Ukraine war before threatened U.S. sanctions go into effect on Friday.