A leaked phone call has disclosed an interaction between President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and a senior Russian official, offering guidance on how President Vladimir Putin should approach Trump to curry favor before discussing a peace plan for Ukraine. The five-minute conversation, which occurred on October 14, 2025, was covered by Bloomberg on November 25, 2025.
During the call with Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Witkoff provided detailed instructions on how the Russian leader should contact Trump. Witkoff advised Putin to phone Trump personally before a planned White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to commend him on the Gaza ceasefire, a diplomatic effort in which Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were involved.
Ushakov reacted positively to the guidance, agreeing that Putin would commend Trump as a “real peace man” during their conversation. Witkoff elaborated on how the dialogue between the two leaders should proceed, suggesting that Putin introduce the peace plan favorably.
Witkoff seemed to acknowledge that Ukraine might need to make significant concessions to Russia for a potential agreement. He mentioned Donetsk and suggested that a land swap could be necessary to finalize a deal. Throughout the call, Witkoff expressed admiration for Putin, telling Ushakov he had “the deepest respect for President Putin.”
While discussing Zelenskyy’s upcoming White House visit, Witkoff downplayed his role, stating he would meet the Ukrainian president only “because they want me there.” The envoy emphasized his belief that Trump would allow him considerable freedom in negotiations, saying the president would grant him “a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal.”
After the call with Witkoff, another leaked conversation showed Ushakov speaking with Kirill Dmitriev, an economic adviser to Putin who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The two Russian officials talked about drafting their version of a peace plan to present to Witkoff, confident he would maintain it as closely aligned with Russia’s version as possible. Dmitriev suggested sharing the document informally, acknowledging the Americans might not adopt Russia’s version verbatim, but believing it would remain similar.
Witkoff also met with Dmitriev in Miami, Florida, alongside Kushner following the October call. This meeting raised questions about the coordination between Trump’s team and Russian officials on the peace plan that would eventually emerge.
The initial 28-point peace plan resulting from these discussions faced strong criticism from lawmakers across party lines. Critics described it as a Russian wishlist, requiring Ukraine to cede occupied territories, abandon aspirations for NATO membership, and allow Russia to rejoin the G8. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later revised the proposal to 19 points, which Ukraine has tentatively agreed to consider.
Trump defended Witkoff while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on November 25, 2025. “That’s a standard thing,” Trump said, adding he had not heard the audio himself. “He’s gotta sell this to Ukraine, he’s gonna sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does. I haven’t heard it but I heard it was standard negotiation.”
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung told NewsNation the leak demonstrated that Witkoff communicates with officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what Trump appointed him to do.
However, Representative Gregory Meeks, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed concern about the relationship between Trump’s team and Moscow. Meeks said Trump and Witkoff are “in bed with the Russians,” calling the situation troubling and urging Americans to believe what they’re seeing about the administration’s dealings with the Kremlin.
The Kremlin responded to the leak with its own concerns. Ushakov claimed parts of the transcript were fake, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated the disclosure was intended to undermine peace efforts. Peskov suggested many people in various countries, including the United States, want to stop the trend toward peace.
The controversy emerged as Trump’s planned meeting with Zelenskyy ended in a shouting match, according to reports. The Ukrainian president had hoped to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles during the White House visit but ultimately failed to obtain them.
Witkoff and Trump have been friends for over 40 years, and the president appointed the real estate developer as his special envoy to work on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a Yale Law School associate of Vice President JD Vance, has since taken a more prominent role in delivering the latest peace proposals to Russian officials.
The leaked conversations have intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s approach to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, raising questions about whether American officials are adequately representing Ukrainian interests in the peace process.