Vladimir Putin greets Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, September 5, 2026
EA on TVP World: Ukraine — Russia’s Hybrid Warfare Across Europe
EA’s Cormac Smith joined India’s WION on Sunday to evaluate the visit of Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
Cormac notes the “typical” Russian tactic of negotiating from a maximum position, in this case Ukraine’s surrender of more territory and the lack of meaningful security guarantees for Kyiv.
Meanwhile, “it is very hard to know what position with which the Americans have approached these negotiations”. He consider if the past demand for the Trump camp for Ukraine’s capitulation has shifted with the recent visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow.
In any case, “it is clear that there will not be an instant halt to hostilities”.
