Witkoff: "The president has this uncanny ability to bend people to his sensible way of thinking. He does it each and every time. I've never seen anything quite like it and I've been around some master dealmakers. He is the legend as far as I'm concerned."
Let’s remember 
Steve Witkoff’s deep ties to 
Russia at the very moment he is leading closed-door 
Ukraine talks with Vladimir Putin as Trump’s envoy. Behind his image as a real estate developer lies a network of oligarch connections, Kremlin-linked capital, and political positions that have consistently leaned toward Moscow.
Witkoff’s closest partner in business has been billionaire Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries co-financed some of the largest luxury developments in New York and Miami. Blavatnik, though often branded as a Western investor, made his fortune alongside sanctioned oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, and Viktor Vekselberg in the AAR consortium, which sold its stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft for $55 billion. That deal directly enriched them through Putin’s state oil giant, cementing a Kremlin connection at the heart of Blavatnik’s wealth. Blavatnik himself has given millions to Republican politics, including a million-dollar check to Trump’s inauguration, while Ukraine sanctioned him in 2023 for his Russian ties.
From Blavatnik the chain runs deeper: to Vekselberg, sanctioned for advancing Kremlin foreign policy, to Oleg Deripaska, Putin’s favored aluminum magnate and longtime target of U.S. sanctions, and to Alfa Group’s Fridman and Aven, accused of benefiting from security service ties and Putin’s system of controlled oligarchy. These men form the network from which Blavatnik’s billions were built, and Witkoff, by aligning himself with Blavatnik, enters a circle that cannot be separated from Kremlin influence.
As envoy, Witkoff has stepped beyond private business into highly sensitive diplomacy. In 2025 he traveled to Moscow on multiple occasions, often without U.S. policy officials present, instead relying on Kremlin-provided interpreters, an unusual practice that raised questions about transparency and control of the record. In his public appearances, he praised Vladimir Putin as “super smart,” language that U.S. diplomats typically avoid given the adversarial context. More critically, Witkoff appeared to validate Russia’s staged referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories, downplayed Ukraine’s sovereignty by referring to it as a “false state” and promoted negotiation frameworks centered on territorial concessions and land exchanges. Each of these positions aligns closely with longstanding Kremlin objectives: securing recognition of its territorial gains, fragmenting Ukraine’s legitimacy, and shaping peace talks on Moscow’s terms. Russian state outlets amplified his remarks, portraying them as evidence of softening U.S. resolve.
The picture is clear: Steve Witkoff is not simply a Trump friend entering diplomacy. His business network intersects with oligarch wealth tied to Rosneft, his partners are linked to Putin’s circle, and his public statements have echoed Russia’s messaging on Ukraine. In his role as envoy, he has become both a messenger and a potential asset for Moscow, blending U.S. politics, private deals, and Russian state interests in a way that demands serious scrutiny.
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America is facing threats from without, however, its greatest threat lies within. And it is growing in strength and power.
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