US Special Envoy: Occupied Territories Key to Resolving Russian-Ukrainian War

The key factor in resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war is the status of the occupied territories.

This opinion was expressed in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson by US Presidential Special Envoy Steven Witkoff. He explained that he believes the status of four regions is the main issue in this war: "Donbass, Crimea, Luhansk and two others. These territories are Russian-speaking, and 'referendums' were held there, where the majority of people voted in favor of being under the rule of Russia."

This, in his opinion, is the key point in the conflict and the first thing that needs to be resolved. As Trump's special envoy said, there are very positive conversations about this now. Carson noted that Russia currently controls some Ukrainian territories. And in fact, some of them are now part of Russia, according to the Kremlin.

"That's right. That is correct. But this has always been a problem. Yes, and no one wants to talk about it. It's the elephant in the room," Vitkoff said.

The US President's Special Envoy is convinced that the "elephant in the room" is "constitutional issues within Ukraine. "

"The Russians de facto control these territories. The question is, will the world recognize that these are Russian territories? Will it end? Can Zelensky survive politically if he recognizes this? This is the central question in the conflict. Absolutely," he added.

Earlier, the United States announced that it was leaving the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) and reducing the work of the War Crimes Investigation Team. At the same time, the United States was the only country outside of Europe that cooperated with European law enforcement to prosecute those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.

Prior to that, the U.S. Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), headed by multibillionaire Elon Musk, cut off funding for the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, a team at Yale University that helped rescue hundreds of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Before that, International Criminal Court prosecutor Kareem Khan, who issued the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, was placed on President Trump's sanctions list.

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