Witkoff salutes Putin for being 'humanitarian' hours after Russian strike killed baby

Witkoff salutes Putin as 'humanitarian' 48 hours after Russian strike killed baby US. envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the day before US envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Russia's Vladimir Putin for being a "humanitarian" - less than 48 hours after a Russian strike killed a one-year-old baby at a park in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday to discuss measures to end the nearly five-year full-scale war in Ukraine. At the start of the talks, Putin announced the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian detention. Witkoff told Putin: "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." Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is understood to have participated in the meeting virtually. The meeting came after what a US official called "constructive" talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway. After talks with Witkoff in the Norwegian capital, Zelensky thanked Washington on Tuesday for the resumption of US intelligence on Russian strikes. The positive tone followed days of friction between Kyiv and Washington after Trump struck a diesel-supply deal with Putin and called for Zelensky to be replaced after Ukraine refused to stop hitting Russian oil refineries. "We are thankful that intelligence works," Zelensky told reporters in Oslo, describing the early warnings as "very, very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians" when ballistic missiles were about to strike. This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link. You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.