The Daily Populous Friday April 18th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by bbc.com and submitted by mvanigan

Zelensky accuses Trump's envoy of spreading 'Russian narratives'

"I think it's really dangerous, because consciously or unconsciously he is disseminating Russian narratives".

"I think that Mr Witkoff has taken the strategy of the Russian side," Zelensky told a Kyiv press conference on Thursday.

After holding a five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Witkoff told Fox News that a deal to end the war was "about these so-called five territories".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused US special envoy Steve Witkoff of "disseminating Russian narratives" after he appeared to suggest that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine hinged on the status of five Ukrainian regions.

"The territories are ours, they belong to our people and not only us but the future Ukrainian people... So I don't understand what he's talking about," said Zelensky.

The fifth region is believed to be Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move not recognised internationally.

Witkoff appeared to be referring to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern Ukraine, much of which are under Russian military occupation after Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 with the aim of taking control of the whole country.

In his interview with Fox News, Witkoff said: "This peace deal is about these so-called five territories. But there's so much more to it… I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very important for the world at large."

"On top of that, I believe there's a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too," he added.

The US and Russia have been holding talks aimed at restoring diplomatic relations.

Zelensky's intervention is not the first time he has criticised Witkoff.

In March, he said: "He doesn't look like a military man. He doesn't look like a general, and he doesn't have such experience. As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate. And this is a little different."

The Ukrainian leader's comments came after top US, Ukrainian and European diplomats met in Paris to discuss the war - a group that included Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Meanwhile Donald Trump renewed his own criticisms of Zelensky on Thursday. He appeared to row back on earlier comments accusing the Ukrainian leader of starting the war but said he was "not a big fan".

"I don't hold Zelensky responsible but I'm not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started," Trump said.

"I'm not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn't say he's done the greatest job, OK? I am not a big fan."

Zelensky also told journalists that he had "information" China was supplying weapons to Russia.

"We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation," he said.

"We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory," he added.

China has not yet responded but has previously portrayed itself as a neutral party in the war.

Beijing did respond to an assertion last week by Zelensky that Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia by advising "relevant parties to correctly and soberly understand China's role and not to make irresponsible remarks".

MeltSolaris on April 17th, 2025 at 19:45 UTC »

> In an interview with right-wing podcast host Tucker Carlson, the envoy [Witkoff] said he has come to regard Putin as not a "bad guy," and that the Russian president was a "great" leader seeking to end Moscow's deadly three-year conflict with Kyiv.

> "I liked him. I thought he was straight up with me," Witkoff said in the interview aired Friday.

> "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war, and all the ingredients that led up to it."

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250322-putin-not-a-bad-guy-trump-envoy-says

> The Kremlin confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted to Donald Trump a portrait he commissioned of the U.S. president.

> The gift was first mentioned last week by Witkoff in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Witkoff told Carlson that Trump “was clearly touched” by the portrait, which he described as “beautiful.”

> During his interview with Carlson, Witkoff described Putin’s gift as “gracious” and recalled how Putin told him he had prayed for Trump last year when he heard the then-candidate for the U.S. presidency had been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. “He was praying for his friend,” Witkoff said, recounting Putin’s comments.

https://apnews.com/article/putin-trump-russia-portrait-kremlin-ef9791fecc372b68f5da2a9377febdd1

> The fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, said Witkoff, was to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022, two U.S. officials and five people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-envoys-embrace-russian-demands-worries-republicans-us-allies-2025-04-11/

ConsequenceVast3948 on April 17th, 2025 at 19:37 UTC »

I feel so bad for Ukrainian people that have to rely on these slimy bastards. Traitors.

mvanigan on April 17th, 2025 at 19:31 UTC »

> "The territories are ours, they belong to our people and not only us but the future Ukrainian people... So I don't understand what he's talking about," said Zelensky.

Well said