Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told a senior Kremlin official last month that achieving peace in Ukraine would require Russia to gain control of Donetsk and potentially a separate territorial exchange, according to a recording of their conversation obtained by Bloomberg.
In a phone conversation with Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide, on October 14, Witkoff said he believed the land concessions were necessary, while he advised Ushakov to congratulate Trump and approach the discussion in a more optimistic manner.
According to Bloomberg’s transcript, Witkoff told Ushakov during the five-minute conversation, “Now, I tell you, I know what it takes to make a peace deal: a land swap in Donetsk and maybe somewhere else.” “But I’m saying that instead of talking like that, let’s talk more hopefully because I think we’re going to reach an agreement here.”
The envoy also provided strategic guidance about how Putin should raise the topic with Trump, including suggestions about scheduling a Trump–Putin telephone conversation before Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House later that week.
On Wednesday, Ushakov confirmed the authenticity of the phone conversation, telling Russian state TV that the leak was likely an attempt to “hinder” the talks.
“As for Vitkoff, I can say that a preliminary agreement has been reached that he will come to Moscow next week,” Ushakov said.
The recording provides direct insight into Witkoff’s negotiating approach and reveals the origins of the controversial 28-point peace proposal unveiled in November.
On the call, Witkoff, who helped broker the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement, suggested that Moscow and Washington develop a joint peace framework based on that agreement. He said, “We had a 20-point Trump plan that was 20 points for peace and I’m thinking maybe we’ll do the same thing with you.”
It appeared that Ushakov took some advice on board. Putin will “congratulate” and say: “Mr Trump is a real peace man,” he said.
The heavily criticized 28-point proposal would require Ukraine to cede the entire Donetsk region to Russia, including areas currently under Ukrainian control. Russia has not completely captured Donetsk.
Those areas would become a demilitarized buffer zone recognized internationally as Russian, and the plan would also give Russia control over Luhansk and Crimea, while freezing the current battle lines in Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Putin said this month that he believed the U.S. plan could serve as “the basis for a final peaceful solution,” though the Kremlin says it has not discussed the proposal in detail with Washington.
The revelations came as Trump said Tuesday he was sending U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Putin in Moscow, along with Witkoff and the Ukrainians, ahead of a possible White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky on Friday.
“I hope to meet with President Zelensky and President Putin soon, but only when an agreement to end this war is final or in its final stages,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The US has pressured Ukraine to accept the framework as a foundation for ending the nearly four-year conflict, although Ukrainian officials have insisted they will not recognize Russian control over the occupied territories or accept limits on their military forces.
This phone conversation took place when Trump’s stance towards Moscow seems to be hardening. On the same day of the Witkoff–Ushakov call, Trump expressed frustration at Putin’s reluctance to end the war, saying: “I don’t know why he’s continuing this war. He doesn’t want to end that war. And I think it makes him look very bad.”
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