Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is reportedly mulling an air truce with Ukraine to halt its record-breaking drone and missile bombardments, a major potential concession to President Trump ahead of his Friday deadline to make peace.

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected attempts at a full-fledged cease-fire with Ukraine, but is open to an air truce if Kyiv agrees to it as well, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the potential agreement.

The possible truce was floated as Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow Wednesday for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the bloodshed.

Witkoff and Putin met for three hours in their first in-person sitdown since April. Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov characterized the meeting as “useful and constructive,” a description he’s used for past visits with the US envoy.

Neither side immediately provided additional details on the meeting

It is not clear how serious the Russians are about a potential air truce and Putin has not publicly entertained the possibility — though his lone major ally in Europe, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, also recently dangled the idea, according to Russian state-owned outlet TASS.

However, a halt in drone and missile attacks would give Russia time to rebuild its air defenses and potentially postpone punitive measures from Trump.

Trump has given Russia until Friday to move towards peace with Ukraine or else he will impose secondary tariffs or sanctions against the country, meaning countries that import Russian energy will also be hit with punitive measures.

The war in Ukraine has been dominated by intense drone fighting, with the two sides making dramatic advancements in the nascent technology. 

Last month, Russia launched an estimated 6,297 drone attacks on Ukraine, the most since the war broke out, according to the AFP news agency and data from Ukraine’s air force.

The attacks have pummeled civilian enclaves in Ukraine and drawn the ire of Trump.

Last month, the US president publicly complained that Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody.” As a result, Trump has said he will sell advanced weapons to Ukraine and leverage economic pressure points against Russia via secondary tariffs or sanctions.

China and India are the largest importers of Russian energy, which many experts believe has enabled the Kremlin to keep up its war machine and withstand crippling Western sanctions. 

Trump has leaned heavily on India in recent days, though it is not entirely clear that either New Delhi or China will back off purchases of Russian oil if the secondary sanctions or tariffs take effect. 

If China and India do, it could deliver a severe blow to the Russian economy. In June, Moscow’s economy minister said the country was on the brink of a recession, and Putin announced plans to slash military spending despite the ongoing war. 

Trump and Zelensky, who held “productive” talks by phone on Tuesday, are hoping the ultimatum could pressure the Kremlin into ending the war or at least severely weaken its efforts on the battlefield. 

Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine, is expected to visit Kyiv within the coming days.

Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials have joked that they love Kellogg’s visits, because the Russians tend to ease up on their attacks when he is in town.