President Trump threatened Russia with more sanctions as Moscow continued its attacks on Ukraine. 

Mr. Trump told reporters that special envoy Steve Witkoff may be going to Russia “next week, Wednesday or Thursday.” The 10-day deadline given by the president for Moscow to end the war or face sanctions expires on Friday. 

When asked if there is anything Russia can do to avoid sanctions, Mr. Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”

A “tremendous” number of Russians have been killed, “and likewise Ukrainians,” he said, calling it a “ridiculous war. Somehow we are gonna get this one stopped. We stopped a lot of wars and this one should be the easiest to stop and it’s not.”

Mr. Trump also said there will be sanctions placed on Russia if the war doesn’t end, “but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions.”

“You know, they’re wily characters and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions. So we’ll see what happens,” Mr Trump added.

The president confirmed that American submarines have departed from the United States: “They are in the region, yeah, where they have to be.”

The American ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, stressed on Saturday that the war can only end through a negotiated settlement.

“You know, I think President Trump has been pretty clear that this war in Ukraine is not going to be settled on the battlefield. Ultimately, it’s got to be negotiated and there needs to be peace,” he said.

Russian drone attacks in the Odessa region sparked fires on Monday morning as they targeted electronics stalls at a local radio market, according to the Kyiv Post. 

Russia has insisted that a settlement with Ukraine must include the country renouncing aspirations to join NATO and that a deal has to reflect “new territorial realities.”