Eleanor Beardsley

He was referring to Ukrainian land in the Donbass that Russia has been unable to fully conquer.

If they don't, Putin added, Russia will seize the territory anyway.

Ukrainians say Russia does not want to end the war and is simply buying time with the Trump administration.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.

Transcripts of phone conversations revealed by Bloomberg show Witkoff giving advice to Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy on how Putin should speak with Trump.

He says Putin should flatter Trump and compliment his recent Mideast peace deal.

As the head of one Ukrainian newspaper put it,

Teaching murderers how to talk to Trump.

Ukrainians already considered Witkoff biased.

He often spouts Kremlin talking points after visits to Moscow and has never visited Ukraine.

In an interview six months ago with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, Witkoff was unable to name the four Ukrainian provinces he said Ukraine should cede to Russia.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.

NPR has not been able to independently confirm the transcripts released by Bloomberg.

In one call, Witkoff encourages the Putin advisor to have Putin call President Trump and flatter him over his recent Mideast peace deal.

in order to get the ball rolling on a similar deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The Putin call came a day ahead of a White House visit by Volodymyr Zelensky in October and likely dashed the Ukrainian president's hopes for Tomahawk missiles.

A second release conversation between two Putin advisors confirms a recent 28-point peace plan released by Russia and the U.S.

was likely entirely concocted by Russia.

That plan, which favored Russia, has since been heavily amended by the Ukrainians and Europeans.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.