If Donald Trump is the greatest peacemaker in presidential history, then Vladimir Putin is the world’s greatest humanitarian, at least according to White House envoy Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff, a longtime business associate to the president, has served as one of the chief foreign policy negotiators of Trump’s second term. On Wednesday, Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin and continue negotiating for the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
During the meeting, Witkoff commended the Russian autocrat currently terrorizing Europe for his many good works.
“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,” he told Putin. “You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.”
Witkoff did not elaborate on what sort of humanistic values he felt Putin embodied. The roughly two million dead — so far — over the course of the war he started against Ukraine should probably count against him. That’s not to mention the extensive documentation of Russian forces targeting Ukrainian civilians in violation of international law. And, of course, the decades of repressive political rule and destruction of civil society overseen by Putin against the people of Russia.
The comments were not received well back in the United States. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) rebuked Witkoff on X. “WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of ‘humanitarian,’” he wrote, alongside an image of the dictionary definition of the term. “What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say. You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a ‘humanitarian.’”
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) was more blunt. “No. Putin is stone cold killer,” he wrote.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, of Arizona questioned in “what world” Putin would be considered a “humanitarian.”
“He’s assassinated political rivals and journalists, bombed hospitals, and started a war that has intentionally killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including women and children. He’s a war criminal,” Kelly wrote.
Witkoff gave an optimistic summary of the talks to reporters after the fact, noting that he thought there was “some degree of momentum, and I hope that this today can be another step forward in the peace process and discussing how we resolve the Ukrainian conflict.”
Critically, Ukraine was not involved in these talks. For weeks now, the Trump administration and its allies have been sending signals to the Russian government that they’re on its side. Trump has attempted to shift blame for the Iran-war induced fuel and energy crisis onto Ukraine, demanding that the country cease its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. (Russia has continued its attacks without any admonishment from the White House.) As the skyrocketing cost of oil and gas pummels Republicans’ approval ahead of the midterms, Trump has also repealed sanctions against Russian oil exports — even as the rival nation continues to aid Iran in their ongoing offensive against the U.S. Last week, Ukrainian forces reported that their access to StarShield — the defense variant of Elon Musk’s Starlink — was throttled, leading to battlefield chaos. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Musk, who is currently contributing over $200 million to GOP campaign efforts, had ordered the shutdown.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News — clearly in the hopes that Trump was tuned in to his favorite channel — that Ukrainians are “open to negotiate in any format, any topics, but don’t speak about us without us please.”
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Putin had floated a meeting between the United States, China, and Russia — sans Ukraine — to discuss the terms of a ceasefire. The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that Putin has agreed to resume trilateral talks with the U.S. and Ukraine. It’s a good sign, but it also looks like Zelensky will be walking into meetings where both parties oppose him.
Ukraine is facing a hellish winter made worse by its growing energy crisis. After years managing to stave off a much stronger military force, it seems that the ultimate tipping point in the outcome of the war will be Trump’s decision to give Russia whatever it wants.
