Bloomberg published transcripts of two phone calls between Russian and US representatives discussing a possible peace plan for Ukraine. The calls involved Vladimir Putin aide Yuri Ushakov speaking with US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff on October 14, 2025, and Ushakov’s conversation with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev on October 20.
According to the agency, in the first call Witkoff said he had the “deepest respect” for Putin, argued that Russia had sought a peace deal, and proposed drafting a new plan for Ukraine. He also mentioned Donetsk and a possible exchange of territories, and supported a phone call between Donald Trump and Putin before Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned visit to the White House.
In the second conversation, Dmitriev and Ushakov discussed how to pass a document to the US side informally so that Washington could present it as its own initiative. Ushakov, however, warned that Moscow’s position could later be reworked and described differently.
“Someone is listening, someone is leaking, but it isn’t us,” Ushakov said after the publication.
He said some contacts take place over secure lines, but other conversations are held on WhatsApp, making interception possible. Dmitriev called the publication fake. The US administration also rejected the report: Marco Rubio described it as entirely false, JD Vance accused the media of trying to derail the president’s plans, and Donald Trump defended Witkoff, calling such language standard negotiating practice.
The publication then fueled debate in US, Ukrainian, and Russian media over the origin of the recordings and their political impact. Some critics in the United States called for Witkoff to be removed, while commentators in Russia and Ukraine argued over who could have organized the surveillance and who stood to benefit from the leak.