On a newspaper page, two hands are clasped together. They belong to a mother and her child, found beneath the rubble of a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Above them is a statement whose politeness could hardly make it more cruel: "You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that. I commend you." Those were the words of Steve Witkoff, special envoy to American President Donald Trump. They were addressed to Vladimir Putin. On October 29, 2026, this juxtaposition appeared in a full-page paid advertisement in the conservative New York Post. A compliment delivered in the Kremlin, with the hands of the dead beneath it. The people behind the ad hardly needed anything more to make their accusation visible.
Behind the advertisement are Razom for Ukraine, the American Coalition for Ukraine, and Nova Ukraine. The three Ukrainian-American organizations paid for its publication and delivered an unmistakable demand to Washington: "Pressure Russia, Not Ukraine." Their choice of newspaper was deliberate. Right there, where so many conservative Americans get their news, the praise of the Russian president by a representative of the Trump administration would appear alongside what his army leaves behind in Ukraine. The newspaper's editors did not endorse the demand by publishing it. The page explicitly identified the advertisement as paid content.
The story behind it takes us back to October 21 in St. Petersburg. Witkoff met Putin at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna after Russia had released American citizen Stephen Hubbard. The former teacher, 74, had been imprisoned in Russia since 2022. A Moscow court had sentenced him to 6 years and 10 months in prison for allegedly serving as a mercenary for Ukraine. His family and his attorney disputed the charges. Trump had personally pushed for his release. Putin granted the request, and Hubbard was able to return to the United States after more than 4 years in captivity.
Witkoff was effusive in his gratitude. "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again," the American envoy told Putin. The release of a prisoner became an occasion to honor the very man under whose rule that prisoner had been locked away for years in the first place.
In Washington, the remarks drew criticism from both parties. Even Republican senators such as Thom Tillis and John Cornyn rejected Witkoff's description. The Russian president has been waging a full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine since February 2022. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. According to the United Nations, more than 17,500 civilians have been confirmed killed since the invasion began. The actual death toll is likely considerably higher.
The advertisement recalled the Russian attack on an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia on October 10. Its creators used the initially reported death toll of 17. Ukrainian authorities later put the number of people killed at 20, including children. A Russian glide bomb strike had destroyed parts of the building. Beneath the rubble, rescuers found a mother and her child, their hands still clasped together. While Witkoff was talking about humanity in St. Petersburg, Ukrainian families were pulling their loved ones from the ruins of their homes.
The reception at the Kremlin also came at a time when relations between Washington and Kyiv had deteriorated significantly. Just a day earlier, on October 20, Witkoff had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also took part in the discussions. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner joined remotely. Zelensky was trying to shore up American support. Kyiv had previously complained about missing early warnings of Russian missile attacks and restrictions on satellite-based communications.
The dispute over Patriot interceptor missiles, paid for by European countries on Ukraine's behalf, was particularly serious. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not yet approved Ukraine's latest requests. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that a delivery might have failed to go through but denied that there had been a deliberate political order to weaken Ukraine. Access to the satellite-based Starshield system had also been restricted. According to people familiar with the events, the order had come from the White House. On October 25, Zelensky said American warnings of ballistic missile attacks were once again fully operational. Starshield's capabilities had also been restored.
While Ukrainian cities continued to be bombed, Trump eased restrictions on Russian diesel fuel. Washington agreed to purchase 300,000 tons of Russian diesel to bring down American energy prices. On top of that came a sweeping decision to hold off on new sanctions. These decisions drew opposition even in the United States Congress. Meanwhile, Trump claimed Russia had behaved quite reasonably in Ukraine. Zelensky, on the other hand, was obstructing negotiations, he said. Ukraine needed to finally be ready to end the war.
In St. Petersburg, Witkoff and Putin negotiated over the possibility of further talks. Also at the table were Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. Kushner participated by video here as well. Putin expressed a willingness in principle to continue discussions with Washington and Kyiv. The talks would focus in particular on a future security arrangement after the war. Witkoff described the exchange as constructive. An agreement to end Russia's invasion remained nowhere in sight.
On October 29, the three organizations answered with their advertisement. The word "humanitarian" now appeared above a photograph of Ukrainian victims. Their message reached precisely the audience most likely to encounter Trump's political rapprochement with Putin. Washington can talk about peace negotiations, lift sanctions, and buy Russian diesel. None of that makes responsibility for the bombed-out homes disappear. In Zaporizhzhia, a mother and her child were still holding hands when rescuers found them. In St. Petersburg, releasing a single prisoner was enough for Putin to be honored as a humanitarian by the American president's envoy.
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