Questions swirl about whether Witkoff misunderstood Putin's offer on Ukraine
Witkoff met with Putin for about three hours in the Kremlin last Wednesday, and their discussion set off a chain of events that ultimately led to President Trump announcing a one-on-one with the Russian leader in Alaska this coming Friday.
But privately, some European allies are complaining that they received varying accounts of what led to the supposed breakthrough with Putin that caused Trump to tout 'progress' had been made.
After Witkoff's lengthy meeting with Putin, Trump held a call with his European counterparts to brief them on what the Russian leader told his envoy.
Trump initially implied that Russia was willing to potentially pull its forces out of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in exchange for complete control of Donetsk, per the Wall Street Journal.
4 Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin last Wednesday.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
4 President Trump has complained that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made positive overtures before continuing to bomb Ukraine brutally.
AP
Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk are territories in the southeast of Ukraine.
Since the war broke out, Russia has been keen on taking control over four territories it has deemed oblasts: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. That's in addition to its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
But Witkoff later made a different claim to Europeans last Thursday that Putin offered to freeze and withdraw from the front line, according to the report.
By last Friday, Witkoff clarified to his counterparts that what Putin actually offered was for Ukraine to pull out of Donetsk in exchange for a cease-fire.
Several European officials are speculating that Witkoff also may have misunderstood or even talked past Putin on other key details of what was actually proposed.
Some believe that Putin called for a 'peaceful withdrawal' from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in eastern Ukraine and that Witkoff misunderstood that to mean pulling Russian troops out of there, German outlet BILD reported.
However, they believe that Putin actually meant for Ukrainian forces to be withdrawn from those two territories that Russia has attempted to annex during the war.
4 Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has been adamant that his country be involved in the decision-making process.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images
'Witkoff doesn't know what he's talking about,' a Ukrainian government official vented to the outlet.
The Post reached out to a Witkoff spokesperson and the White House for comment.
Witkoff is a real estate buddy of Trump's and has no foreign policy experience prior to becoming special envoy, where he juggles the responsibilities of trying to broker peace in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
Ukraine still controls the capitals of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, though Russia has a vast swath of those territories in its possession. Russia also has full control over Luhansk and most of Donetsk.
'Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on social media last week amid the confusion.
Zelensky has also poured cold water on the idea of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.
Still, Putin's overtures to Witkoff appear to have bought some time.
Trump had given Putin a deadline of last Friday to take steps towards peace with Ukraine or else face secondary sanctions or tariffs — penalties on countries that import oil from Moscow.
Some analysts believe that the penalties Trump dangled in his ultimatum could be catastrophic for Russia's economy.
4 The Russians have continued to bombard Ukraine with brutal drone and missile strikes.
AFP via Getty Images
Throughout the two-and-a-half-year-long war, Russia has withstood a spate of crippling Western sanctions, in part by continuing exports to China, India, Turkey and other countries.
In June, Russia's economy minister warned that the country is on the brink of a recession, and Putin announced plans to trim the military budget despite the ongoing war.
Now Trump is set to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday, marking the first time the Russian leader has set foot on US soil in a decade. The White House is also pushing for Putin and Zelensky to meet, according to Vice President JD Vance.
Witkoff has traveled to Moscow at least five times this year. During his meetings with Putin, the Russian leader took steps to charm him, including by offering him a painting of Trump and recounting how he supposedly went to a church to pray after the July 13, Butler, Pa., assassination attempt.
During this last trip, Putin gifted Witkoff with an Order of Lenin award for Juliane Gallina, a CIA official, whose son was killed fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, CBS News first reported.
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an hour ago
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