Witkoff suggests Ukraine ask Trump for duty exemption instead of Tomahawk missiles
30 November 2025 02:09
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff suggested that Kyiv seek a ten-year exemption from trade duties from the Donald Trump administration in exchange for the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The Wall Street Journal writes about this, citing knowledgeable sources, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the newspaper, Vitkoff convinced the Ukrainian side that the deferral of duties would provide the state with a significant economic stimulus.
“What good can a handful of missiles do?” the WSJ quotes him as saying. Mr. Vitkoff neither confirmed nor denied this information, saying only that he was “in the business of making deals.” “We continue to knock on doors and pitch ideas,” he said.
The WSJ also reported that Vitkoff actually disrupted the Tomahawk delivery to Ukraine by advising Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov on how Putin should build communication with Donald Trump – first of all, to praise him for “peace in the Middle East.” According to a leaked recording of their conversation, it was the US president’s special envoy who proposed organizing a phone call between Trump and Putin on the eve of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House, where they planned to discuss the Tomahawk transfer. After the call, Trump refused the delivery, citing a reduction in inventory.
The WSJ noted that Trump’s position was influenced by Putin, who argued that sending the Tomahawk would lead to an escalation. The Kremlin reported that Putin in the conversation “repeated his thesis that Tomahawks will not change the situation on the battlefield, but will harm relations between our two countries.”
In addition, in a conversation with Ushakov, Vitkoff suggested preparing a “peace plan” similar to the Gaza agreement and expressed confidence that “Russia has always wanted to reach an agreement on Ukraine.” He also admitted that he has the “deepest respect” for Putin.
According to Bloomberg, Russian Presidential Special Representative for Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev may have passed on Russian conditions for ending the war to Vitkoff, which were later presented as Donald Trump’s peace plan. The document, among other things, provided for Ukraine’s relinquishment of territories, NATO membership, and a reduction of the Ukrainian army. The Guardian conducted a linguistic analysis of the text of the plan and found that the document contained constructions typical of Russian official business style, including numerous passive voice phrases.
Following the publications about Witkoff’s contacts with Russian representatives, some Republicans in Congress demanded his dismissal. In particular, House member Don Bacon said that the special envoy was acting “as if he were on the payroll of the Russians,” and that the incident itself was a “fiasco and a stain on the reputation of the United States.” “Would a Russian paid agent have done less than this? He should be fired,” Bacon said. Congressman Ted Lieu called Witkoff a “traitor.”
