Earlier, in an interview with American propagandist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff shared his views on the war's "root cause." He said that Russia doesn't see Ukraine as a real country and that Moscow "de facto" controls the Ukrainian territories under the occupation but failed to correctly name all of the regions in question. He also agreed with Carlson’s claim that Former Prime Minister of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev made these regions part of Ukraine because he was Ukrainian.
No, Tucker, Khrushchev isn’t Ukrainian and you really need to take history classResponding to Witkoff’s comment that the war was rooted in the Kremlin's belief that Ukraine is a "false country," Merezhko stressed that the US envoy is simply repeating Putin’s propaganda.
"Is he an envoy of President Trump or... Putin's envoy?" he asked.Merezhko said that Witkoff "should be removed as a representative of Trump because he discredits the United States and the US foreign policy". He added that President Trump should at least take decisive action—he must disavow these statements because they are dangerous. Merezhko also noted that "in the entourage of Mr Trump, there are different people - those who understand what's going on and those who don't understand," implying that Witkoff belongs to the latter. Related:
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- Rosneft-owned refinery in Tuapse hit in overnight drone attack (video)
- Ukrainian UAVs strike drone production facility in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast
- Vital Maxar satellite imagery restores critical access to Ukraine
