Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
Steve Witkoff’s handling of a proposed Ukraine peace plan has been harshly criticised by several congressional Republicans. “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace,” Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. Those fears escalated after Steve Witkoff reportedly coached Moscow on how to handle Trump, Joseph Gedeon reports. “For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians,” Republican representative Don Bacon wrote on X. “He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.” Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, wrote that the leak represented “one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop”. Senator Mitch McConnell suggested Trump might need to find new advisers. Vice-president JD Vance accused McConnell of making a “ridiculous attack”. Donald Trump Jr. said on social media McConnell was “just bitter and lashing out against my father”.
Americans involved in the Ukrainian war effort are dismayed by Trump’s continuing pressures on Kyiv. Ben Makuch reports some think the US-led peace plan is tantamount to backstabbing. “Complete bullshit and a betrayal by Trump,” said one American special forces veteran who has helped train and advise the Ukrainian military. “But are you even surprised?” A Nato veteran who trains Ukrainian soldiers said money is motivating the US government and called the plan “pathetic”.
