&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Great progress' that wasn't met: Trump’s envoy Witkoff got Putin’s Ukraine land swap offer wrong")
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 6 August. Soon after, he told Donald Trump that Putin was ready to make big concessions in Ukraine, including pulling back from the partially occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Reuters reported. Trump hailed the meeting as “great progress” and agreed to hold a historic summit with Putin, hinting that a land swap deal was being discussed.
How did the confusion begin?
On 7 August, Witkoff told European leaders that Putin was willing to give up Kherson and Zaporizhzhia if Ukraine handed over Donetsk and Luhansk. This shocked US and European officials, who said it did not match their own assessments of Putin’s position. The very next day, Witkoff gave a different version. In a call led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said Putin had not actually offered to leave Kherson or Zaporizhzhia. Instead, Putin had only signalled he would not push the West to recognise them as Russian.
Why has it raised eyebrows?
Witkoff is a real estate developer with no diplomatic background. According to the Reuters report, he also broke protocol by attending the Moscow meeting without a State Department notetaker, leaving no official record of what Putin really offered. He has been criticised before for repeating pro-Russian talking points and was recently accused of lobbying to ease US energy sanctions on Moscow.
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Trump’s push for a deal between Russia and Ukraine
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has promised a quick peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. He has repeatedly suggested both sides might need to “swap” land, a stance that has worried Kyiv and Europe. Speaking before his summit in Alaska, Trump said his goal was to secure a ceasefire, adding, “Look, Russia is a very big power, and they (Ukraine) are not. Gotta make a deal.” But despite calling the talks “productive,” Trump admitted he and Putin failed to agree on key issues.
Where does things stand now?
Russia has shown no sign of compromise. Instead, it has launched fresh missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, including one of the largest strikes on Kyiv since the war began. Putin continues to demand that Ukraine drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw from occupied regions, while keeping control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
