Top Democrats Blast Trump Envoys for Undermining Ukraine and NATO

Key Points:

• Three senior Democratic lawmakers—Congressmen Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith, and Senator Jack Reed—condemned President Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for undermining Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion and promoting Kremlin demands that threaten NATO and US national security.
• The lawmakers accused the envoys of pressuring Kyiv to surrender sovereign Ukrainian territory, including key defensive positions in Donbas, and of bypassing US intelligence and State Department guidance with a transactional approach likened to a real estate deal.
• They warned that weakening Ukraine and easing pressure on Moscow would reward Russian aggression, threaten NATO’s post-Cold War security framework, and have grave consequences for global stability.
• The statement came ahead of Kushner and Witkoff’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, with Democrats urging President Trump not to pursue policies that appease Putin or undermine US national security.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected US pressure to cede territory, emphasizing the need for binding US security guarantees and criticizing demands for territorial concessions as unacceptable for a sovereign nation.