Overview
- Bloomberg published audio and transcripts of two October calls, one between Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and another between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev.
- Ushakov appeared to validate the recordings while calling the leak unacceptable and suggested some conversations may have occurred over WhatsApp.
- Intelligence services across capitals are probing the origin of the intercepts, with theories pointing to European services, Russian actors, Ukrainian agencies, or the CIA/NSA, according to multiple reports.
- The call contents show Witkoff advising on how to appeal to President Trump and indicate Russian input shaped the peace framework previously portrayed as U.S.-devised.
- Trump defended Witkoff’s conduct as standard practice, a Ukrainian presidential adviser publicly backed him, and former officials warned the disclosure could shut down ongoing collection.