 "Furious Ukrainian MPs blast Trump’s special envoy Witkoff for remarks on Russian-held regions")
Disgruntled Ukrainian lawmakers are firing a salvo at Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for West Asia and also a key figure in efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The reason? Witkoff’s recent comments regarding Ukrainian territories currently under Russian control.
During a recent interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff seemed to be parroting Russia’s narrative around regions in eastern Ukraine. He claimed Ukrainians residing in Russian-held regions actually preferred living under Russia’s control, citing referendums conducted by the Russian authorities.
Referring to Donbas, Crimea, and “two others” — presumably referring to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, Witkoff said Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine were a key issue in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule,” said Witkoff.
Ukrainian MPs react
Reacting to Witkoff’s statement, several Ukrainian MPs accused the US envoy of questioning their country’s territorial integrity.
Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, was quoted as saying by Kyiv Independent, “In his statements, Witkoff calls into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine." He added, “Such statements are absolutely unacceptable and go against US policy toward Ukraine."
He then went on to urge President Trump to remove Witkoff from the Russia-Ukraine peace efforts.
“It would be better if President Trump recalled Witkoff from the American delegation. Otherwise, it creates the wrong impression about U.S. foreign policy," he adds.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe Trump administration has repeatedly pressed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to offer territorial concessions to Russia to end the war quickly. While the Ukrainian leader has acknowledged that the talks would be “difficult” for his nation, he has ruled out recognising the occupied territories as Russian.
According to Ukrainian media, Russia currently occupies about 20 per cent of the country’s land, including Crimea that Russian forces seized in 2014.
Yelyzaveta Yasko from Zelenskyy’s party told Kyiv Independent that a lot of statements from the Trump administration have been controversial but the lawmaker opposed calls for Witkoff’s removal.
“And for us, it is very important that the war ends with just peace, with justice,” the lawmaker added.
It must be noted that Ukrainian lawmakers’ criticism for Witkoff comes at a time when he earned support from US Vice President JD Vance just few days back.
“Steve Witkoff is a great guy doing an incredible job. The people sniping at him are mad that he is succeeding where they failed for 40 years,” Vance wrote in a post on X.
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