The most explosive foreign policy scandal of Donald Trump’s second term has erupted after a jaw-dropping leak revealed his handpicked special envoy, billionaire real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, privately coaching senior Kremlin officials on how to manipulate the president and push Moscow’s agenda in the Ukraine war.
The bombshell report, first disclosed by Bloomberg News, centers on a five-minute phone call on Oct. 14 between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest foreign policy advisers. What Witkoff said—and how he said it—has left Washington stunned, Ukraine blindsided, and Trump’s own national security team scrambling to contain political fallout that critics are calling “Collusion 2.0.”
The leaked conversation features Witkoff advising Russia’s top strategist on exactly how Putin should flatter Trump ahead of a U.S. meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the time, Zelensky was desperately trying—and ultimately failing—to secure long-range Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine’s defense.
Witkoff, who has known Trump for more than 40 years and now serves as his personal envoy, did not mince words. He instructed Ushakov to have Putin personally phone Trump and praise him for brokering a Gaza ceasefire, which Trump negotiated alongside his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“My recommendation… I would make the call and just reiterate that you congratulate the president on this achievement,” Witkoff said. “That you respect that he is a man of peace.”
Ushakov, sounding eager to comply, responded: “I agree with you. He will say that Mr. Trump is a real peace man.”
The call then spiraled into even more alarming territory. Witkoff coached the Kremlin on how to pitch a “peace plan” for Ukraine—one critics say reads like it was drafted in Moscow. He encouraged Ushakov to present it softly, positively, and with deliberate vagueness, avoiding direct mention of the concessions Russia demanded.
Witkoff, speaking as though offering insider strategy, admitted privately that a peace deal would require Ukraine to surrender Donetsk and consider a land swap. But he advised Russia not to bring those specifics to Trump yet.
“Instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully,” he suggested. “I think the president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal.”
The envoy also made clear his personal admiration for Putin, telling Ushakov: “You know I have the deepest respect for President Putin.”
The comments ignited further outrage because the call came just days before a disastrous White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky, during which the two leaders reportedly shouted at each other as negotiations collapsed.
The leaked call was followed by an equally alarming revelation: Witkoff met in Miami with Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Kremlin-linked Russian Direct Investment Fund, along with Jared Kushner. In a separate leaked conversation, Ushakov and Dmitriev agreed to draft a parallel Russia-approved peace proposal and deliver it confidentially to Witkoff, trusting he would keep it “as close to [Russia’s version] as possible.”
“I don’t think they’ll take exactly our version,” Dmitriev said, “but at least it’ll be as close to it as possible.”
The resulting 28-point peace plan—now widely attributed to Witkoff—was instantly condemned by lawmakers across the political spectrum. Rather than a balanced U.S. proposal, critics say it reads like direct capitulation to Moscow: granting Russia control of Ukrainian territory, blocking Ukraine from joining NATO, and even offering to bring Russia back into the G8.
Some national security officials now believe the plan may have been drafted in Moscow before being branded as a Trump-backed proposal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since slashed it down to a revised 19-point plan, one Ukraine has “tentatively accepted,” according to CNN. But the political firestorm continues.
The White House insists there is nothing improper. Trump defended Witkoff aboard Air Force One: “He’s gotta sell this to Ukraine, he’s gonna sell Ukraine to Russia. That’s what a dealmaker does.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung echoed that line: “This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine every day to achieve peace.”
But critics warn that the leaked call is a flashing red siren.
“This is not diplomacy,” one congressional aide told reporters. “This is a private U.S. citizen coaching the Kremlin on how to influence the president of the United States.”
For many, the scandal is a reminder of a darker era: back-channel communications, shadow envoys, and the unmistakable smell of improvised foreign policy shaped by personal loyalty rather than national interest.
For Ukraine, the consequences are immediate and dangerous. For the White House, the political fallout is just beginning.
And for Witkoff—Trump’s longtime ally turned self-appointed global negotiator—the question now isn’t just what he said on the call… but what else he may have promised behind closed doors.
