The Izvestia news outlet released video of Witkoff leaving a hotel in Russia's second city St Petersburg accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment envoy.
Witkoff has emerged as a key figure in the on-off rapprochement between Russia and the US amid talk on the Russian side of potential joint investments in the Arctic and in Russian rare earth minerals.
Putin was also in St Petersburg on Friday to hold what the Kremlin called an "extraordinarily important" meeting about the development of the Russian navy, which is in the throes of a major modernisation and expansion drive.
Following Witkoff's arrival, Trump took to social media to put further pressure on Russia.
"Russia has to get moving," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Too many people (are) DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the planned Witkoff-Putin meeting, telling Russian state media that the US envoy's visit would not be "momentous" and that no breakthroughs were expected.
The meeting will be their third this year and comes at a time when US tensions with Iran and China  - two countries with which Russia has close ties - are severely strained over Iran's nuclear programme and a burgeoning trade war with China.
Witkoff is due in Oman on Saturday for talks with Iran over its nuclear programme.
Russia has repeatedly offered its help in trying to clinch a diplomatic settlement.
Putin and Trump have spoken by phone but have yet to meet face-to-face since the US leader returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term.
US and Russian officials said they had made progress during talks in Istanbul on Thursday towards normalising the work of their diplomatic missions as they begin to rebuild bilateral ties.
However, US-Russia dialogue aimed at agreeing a ceasefire ahead of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine appears to have stalled over disagreements around the conditions for a full pause in hostilities.
Trump, who has shown signs of losing patience, has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Russia is dragging its feet on a Ukrainian deal.
with DPA
