The leaked transcript of Steve Witkoff’s conversation with Yuri Ushakov, a top Putin aide, reads like a how-to guide for diplomatic malpractice. In the recording, most likely obtained by European intelligence services, Trump’s special envoy can be heard coaching the Kremlin on how to manipulate the president.
“Remind him… that you respect him as a man of peace,” Witkoff advises, “that you are happy with the results of his work [in Gaza].”
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
This isn’t diplomacy. It’s a real estate developer playing geopolitical chess without knowing, or really caring, which pieces move where. And Americans, Ukrainians and their European allies are expected to pay for it.
Witkoff’s main qualification for this job seems to be that he’s Trump’s friend, has had extensive business connections with Russian tycoons, and knows how to flip luxury properties. But he’s managed to do something Putin couldn’t pull off in almost four years of brutal full-scale warfare: undermine Ukraine’s position before real negotiations even start.
The stakes go way beyond Ukraine, as catastrophic as this is for that country. Every adversary is watching.
By deliberately scheduling a Putin-Trump call just days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned White House visit, Witkoff handed Moscow a propaganda win and made it crystal clear whose interests matter in Trump’s world.
Look at the 28-point peace plan that came out of all this. Russia keeps Crimea and the Donbas region it seized through illegal invasion in 2014, and even more land grabbed since 2022. Ukraine has to drastically cut its military – the same military that’s been courageously defending democracy against authoritarian aggression for three years. Russia? No comparable constraints. No accountability for war crimes. No consequences for the hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Hungary Says It Has Deal With Ukraine on Minority Rights, Ties It to EU Accession Talks
Republicans, not just Democrats, are sounding alarms. Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska hardly a partisan bomb-thrower – said flat out that Witkoff “favors the Russians” and “cannot be trusted” with Ukraine policy. Bacon added: “Would a Russian paid agent do less than [Witkoff]? He should be fired.”
For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired. https://t.co/dxMsda0YV5
— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ (@RepDonBacon) November 25, 2025
Former Ambassador William Taylor, who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, called Witkoff “hopelessly naive.” That’s diplomatic speak for dangerously out of his depth.
Trump’s defense? This is just “standard negotiation.”
But there’s nothing standard about an American envoy coaching an adversary on how to flatter and manipulate a serving president. Nothing standard about prioritizing a dictator’s phone call over a democratic ally’s visit. Nothing standard about a peace plan that rewards aggression and punishes the victim.
The Thanksgiving metaphor practically writes itself, but the reality isn’t funny. While Americans debated whether to pardon the ceremonial turkey, Trump was preparing to send Witkoff back to Moscow next week – presumably to continue his tutorial on how to play the president like a fiddle.
What other helpful hints might Witkoff offer? Which Fox News segments Putin should reference? Which Mar-a-Lago members might whisper favorable words in Trump’s ear?
The stakes go way beyond Ukraine, as catastrophic as this is for that country. Every adversary is watching. China is taking notes on what American security guarantees are actually worth. Iran is calculating whether nuclear ambitions can be negotiated away with enough flattery. North Korea is learning that you can get away with provocations if you praise the right person.
Ukraine’s European allies have stood with it and absorbed real economic costs to uphold the principle that borders can’t be changed by force. Now they’re left wondering whether American leadership means anything at all. Seventy-five years of transatlantic security architecture, built on shared values and mutual commitments, is being traded away for one man’s ego and his real estate buddy’s geopolitical illiteracy.
And what should Moldova and the democratic forces of Belarus and Georgia conclude? That they, too, will be written off by Trump and his handpicked team and delivered to Russia on a plate?
Ukraine has fought with extraordinary courage for nearly four years. Not just for its own survival, but for the principle that might doesn’t make right in the 21st century. Ukrainians have endured bombardment, occupation, and atrocities while defending values Americans claim to hold dear. They deserve better than to be sold out by two turkeys who think foreign policy is just another profitable deal to close.
This Thanksgiving, we should be grateful for Ukrainian resilience and ashamed of the recklessness of the current White House. We should demand better than Steve Witkoff’s amateur hour before it’s too late.
There is a time for symbolically pardoning real live turkey birds, but there is no excuse for pardoning the metaphorical turkeys in Washington who are depriving us of all we have to be thankful for.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
