Steve Witkoff, who served as President Donald Trump’s special envoy and chief negotiator for ending the war in Ukraine, has come under fire after comments he made in an interview that seemed to echo some key Kremlin talking points.
In the interview, which aired on “The Tucker Carlson Show” and was posted online Friday, Witkoff discussed his efforts to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he appeared to support Russia’s claims over parts of Ukraine. He seemed to accept Russia’s so-called “referendums” in territories like Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Russia claimed as their own after occupying them.
Witkoff said these areas were “Russian-speaking” and that the “overwhelming majority” of people there wanted to be under Russian control. However, he did not address the fact that these referendums have been widely discredited as fraudulent by Western nations and international bodies. These supposed votes were held under conditions where many Ukrainians had fled, and there were reports of Russian forces intimidating and even abducting people who opposed the annexation.
His remarks are fueling concerns among European allies, who are worried that the Trump administration could be leaning too much toward supporting Putin’s narrative on the conflict. This is especially concerning as Witkoff’s comments on Russia’s territorial claims have stirred fears of a shift in U.S. policy that could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Trump’s Envoy Witkoff Aligns with Kremlin on Ukraine, Drawing Criticism
