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US envoy Steve Witkoff hailed Vladimir Putin as a “true humanitarian” Wednesday, after the Russian leader released an American prisoner and assented to trilateral talks to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin released a 74-year-old retired teacher accused of fighting for Kyiv — a move experts said would foster goodwill with the White House while costing Moscow little. Negotiations could resume next month, though previous discussions in February concluded without breakthroughs. Witkoff’s visit to Russia comes amid mounting fears in Kyiv that Washington is angling to end the war on Moscow’s terms. Facing blowback over high fuel prices, US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over Ukraine’s strikes on refineries in Russia, which have crippled the diesel giant.
document fetched 2026-10-23 22:19 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/10/21/2026/witkoff-calls-putin-a-humanitarian-after-russia-releases-us-prisoner