‘Grovelling Weakness’: Trump’s Envoy Triggers Disgust After Calling Putin A ‘Humanitarian’

Donald Trump’s envoy has been accused of showing “grovelling weakness” to Vladimir Putin after calling the Russian dictator a “humanitarian”.

Steve Witkoff has travelled to St Petersburg to present Putin with the US’s latest peace proposals to end the Ukraine war – which started with Russia’s invasion back in 2022.

It comes after Trump’s administration alarmed the western world by agreeing to a sanctions-busting deal to buy diesel from Russia in the hope of bringing down sky-high pump prices.

He has abandoned a new American law meant to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia, just weeks after the US Senate voted in favour of it.

Trump also dismissed Russia’s latest strikes on Ukraine – even though it was a breach of the US’s proposed energy ceasefire – and has called for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be ousted from office.

Witkoff now appears to have cemented concerns that America is officially in bed with Russia by falling over himself to praise the dictator.

“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 seems to have forgotten that Putin invaded Ukraine in a land grab and continues to occupy around a fifth of its sovereign territory.

The war, which is in its fifth year, has caused more than 1.4 million casualties on the Russian side alone, according to data from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The deadly conflict could end if only Putin pulled his troops out of Ukraine

The International Criminal Court also issued an arrest warrant for Putin back in 2023 for war crimes conducted in Ukraine.

So Witkoff’s remarks quickly sparked disgust online.