The coming week could mark a pivotal moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could quietly pass without consequence.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow midweek, just before Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington.
So far Trump's promises, threats and cajoling have failed to shift the Kremlin's position, and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate remains in place. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defenses.
Witkoff is expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza.
“They would like to see (Witkoff),” Trump said Sunday of the Russians. “They’ve asked that he meet so we’ll see what happens.”
Trump, exasperated that Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that officials are happy to meet with Trump’s envoy. “We are always glad to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow,” he said. “We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful.”
Trump said Sunday that Russia has proven to be “pretty good at avoiding sanctions.”
“They’re wily characters,” he said of the Russians.
The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor have had a limited impact.
Ukraine insists the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow’s war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday urged the United States, Europe and other nations to impose stronger secondary sanctions on Moscow’s energy, trade and banking sectors.
Trump’s comments appeared to signal he doesn’t have much hope that sanctions will force Putin’s hand.
The secondary sanctions also complicate Washington’s relations with China and India, who stand accused of helping finance Russia’s war effort by buying its oil.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has found that stopping the war is harder than he perhaps imagined.
Senior American officials have warned that the U.S. could walk away from the conflict if peace efforts make no progress.
The diplomatic atmosphere has become more heated as Trump’s deadline approaches.
Putin announced last Friday that Russia’s new hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik, has entered service.
The Russian leader has hailed its capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds of up to Mach 10 cannot be intercepted. He claimed that they are so powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.
Separately, one of Putin’s top lieutenants warned that the Ukraine war could nudge Russia and the U.S. into armed conflict.
Trump responded to what he called the “highly provocative statements” by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev by ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines.
Putin has repeated the same message throughout the war: He will only accept a settlement on his terms and will keep fighting until they’re met.
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. It has pushed on with that tactic despite Trump’s public calls for it to stop over the past three months.
On the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, Russia’s bigger army has made slow and costly progress. It is carrying out a sustained operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub whose fall could open the way for a deeper drive into Ukraine.
Ukraine has developed technology that has allowed it to launch long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia. In its latest strike it hit an oil depot near Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, starting a major fire.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, smoke rises after a Russian drone hit the market in the town of Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
The New York Giants hired John Harbaugh as coach on Saturday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced. The sides began working on a contract Wednesday night when it became clear that Harbaugh was the right fit.
Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens, who made the playoffs 12 times with him in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. They fell short of the postseason this year because of a missed kick at the buzzer in Week 18, leading ownership to make an change and put Harbaugh on the market.
General manager Joe Schoen and the Giants pounced, bringing on a proven winner with significant NFL head-coaching experience. Harbaugh was flown in on co-owner Steve Tisch’s private plane earlier this week, spent several hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, spoke with young quarterback Jaxson Dart and got wined and dined at nearby Elia Mediterranean Restaurant.
With the courting process complete, Harbaugh is now tasked with turning around the beleaguered franchise that has made just two playoff appearances over the past 12 years and not made it past the divisional round. Todd Monken could follow him from Baltimore to be offensive coordinator, unless he takes a head-coaching gig in Cleveland or elsewhere.
Harbaugh got the job over the likes of Kevin Stefanski, Mike McCarthy, Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce, leapfrogging some of expected front-runners who got shuffled back as soon as the 63-year-old became available. The chance to work for stable ownership and Dart made New York an attractive landing spot over other places such as Tennessee, Atlanta and Miami.
The Giants have talented pieces in place on either side of the ball, including running back Cam Skattebo, receiver Malik Nabers and left tackle Andrew Thomas on offense, plus pass rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence on defense. They have the fifth pick in the draft to add to that stockpile.
Changing the culture of losing that has pervaded the Meadowlands for the better part of the last decade is now on Harbaugh’s shoulders. Counting playoff games, the seven coaches who followed 2007 and ’11 Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin have gone 45-105-1, a winning percentage of .300.
Harbaugh is 193-124 in 317 games in the league, a .609 winning percentage, since taking over the Ravens in 2008. He spent the previous 10 seasons as an assistant with Philadelphia, mostly as special teams coordinator and then defensive backs coach.
Schoen, after finding out from Tisch and co-owner John Mara that he was returning for a fifth year as GM, said the search would not be limited to just offensive- or defensive-minded options. While Harbaugh comes from a special teams background, he provides the kind of all-around coaching Schoen was believed to be looking for, along with a championship pedigree and a reputation that should garner him immediate respect within the locker room.
This is Schoen’s second hire after bringing Brian Daboll with him from Buffalo, where both were assistants with the Bills, in January 2022. Ownership fired Daboll on Nov. 10 after the Giants lost eight of the first 10 games in his fourth season as coach.
Mike Kafka coached out the string as the interim replacement after being promoted from offensive coordinator, and the team lost five in a row before winning its final two games to finish with a 4-13 record. Kafka interviewed but was never a serious candidate for the full-time job.
Almost no one was compared with Harbaugh, giving the Giants an off-field win that might be their biggest of any kind in several years.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)
FILE -Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen J. Bisciotti, right, holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he and head coach John Harbaugh celebrate the team's 34-31win against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a press conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
