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Short, verified market news summaries; every item names its source and publication date.
Putin to Meet Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow Today as US Envoys' Trip Continues to Kyiv
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Saturday, September 5, 2026 (14 Shahrivar 1405), as part of talks to end the war in Ukraine. According to Mehr News Agency, citing TASS, the plane carrying the two American officials landed in Moscow at 12:52pm local time, where Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special representative for investment and foreign economic cooperation, greeted them at the airport. Per the report, Witkoff and Kushner are due to travel on to Kyiv after their Moscow meeting to continue talks with Ukrainian officials, as part of the Trump administration's push for a deal to end the Russia Ukraine war. Any progress in the talks could affect global market risk appetite and energy prices.
Mehr News Agency, citing TASS
Witkoff and Kushner Head to Moscow and Kyiv With a Plan to End the Ukraine War
According to Al Jazeera, US President Donald Trump said at the White House on Friday, September 4, 2026 (13 Shahrivar 1405), that his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, his son in law, would travel to Kyiv and Moscow this weekend to try to revive peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Trump said the two are bringing an idea for peace but did not disclose details, adding there may be a good chance of reaching a deal. Citing Russia's TASS news agency, Al Jazeera reported Witkoff and Kushner would be in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday, their first visit since January. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pair would be in Kyiv on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier described the talks as frozen, and both sides have continued to escalate air attacks, with Russia striking Ukraine's SBU security service headquarters on Friday, wounding at least 12 people according to Kyiv's mayor. Khabaronline also confirmed on Saturday, September 5, with published footage, that the two envoys had arrived in Moscow.
Al Jazeera
Billions Flee Russian Banks Amid Drone Attacks and Fears of Asset Seizure
According to Bank of Russia data, nearly $3.4 billion (286.4 billion rubles) left the country's banks in the first two weeks of August 2026 (Mordad 1405) alone, adding to $7.3 billion that left in July and $4.5 billion in June. According to Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing The Washington Post, escalating Ukrainian drone attacks and fears that deposits could be seized to help fund the war are the main drivers of the unprecedented cash outflow. Taras Skvortsov, a senior executive at Sberbank, told the Washington Post that total withdrawals this year could reach nearly double the amount that left the country in the first year of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. Per Bank of Russia data, more than $9.4 billion in big business capital also left the country in the second quarter of 2026 alone, and Russia's Finance Ministry was forced last month to cancel a planned government bond sale. Russian GDP growth in the first half of 2026 slowed to 0.3 percent, down from 1.2 percent in the first half of 2025.
Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing The Washington Post
EU Says It Will Unveil Its Largest Ever Sanctions Package Against Russia This Autumn
According to Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing IRNA, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told German newspaper Die Welt, in an interview published Monday, 26 Mordad 1405 (August 17, 2026), that the bloc plans to unveil a new, wide ranging sanctions package against Russia this autumn, calling it the largest since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. Kallas said that if approved, the number of Russian individuals, companies and entities under EU sanctions would grow by a third of the total imposed since the war began. She said the 21 sanctions packages adopted so far have cost Russia's war economy more than one trillion euros; the most recent, the 21st package, was adopted on 1 Mordad 1405 (July 23, 2026) and targeted 170 Russian legal entities and 48 individuals.
Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing IRNA
