Inside the Diplomatic Back Channel: How US Envoy Guided Russia on Pitching Ukraine Peace Plan to Trump

Nov 26, 2025 10:06 am CST

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff held a strategic phone call with Kremlin official Yuri Ushakov, coaching him on how Vladimir Putin should approach Donald Trump about a Ukraine peace plan. This diplomatic back channel reveals the origins of the controversial 28-point peace proposal that the US has pressured Ukraine to accept, providing unprecedented insight into the complex negotiations between Washington and Moscow.