US envoy Witkoff coached Russia to pitch a Ukraine peace plan to Trump

US Envoy Steve Witkoff advised a senior aid to Vladimir Putin on how to pitch a peace plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a transcript of a call from October 14 published by Bloomberg News on Tuesday. The White House has not contested the veracity of the transcript. In November, an initial draft of a peace plan proposed by the US listed measures that would push Ukraine to give up territory and reduce its military in return for peace. The Kremlin said the leak of the transcript was an attempt to hinder peace talks for Ukraine.