Russians mockingly call Trump’s envoys “Vityok and the son-in-law,” Stefanishyna says
Moscow displays a condescending attitude toward US President Donald Trump’s negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with Vlasta Lazur for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“Russians call the negotiators ‘Vityok and zyatyok.’ This is how Russians conduct politics — with condescension and a smirk,” Stefanishyna said.
“Vityok” is an overly familiar, mocking Russian-style nickname applied to Witkoff as a play on his surname. “Zyatyok” is a diminutive of the Russian word for “son-in-law” and refers to Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka. In this context, both terms carry patronizing and dismissive undertones.
At the same time, Stefanishyna said the mere fact that Witkoff and Kushner made their first visit to Kyiv was significant. Representatives of the US State Department, Treasury Department and White House National Security Council were involved in organizing the trip. According to her, these officials had not been involved in the negotiators’ visits to Moscow.
The former ambassador described this as a sign that the US negotiating team was being strengthened institutionally. Meanwhile, Russia once again repeated its familiar threats about a difficult winter, ballistic missile attacks and the capture of the Donbas.
According to Stefanishyna, Moscow’s unchanged rhetoric is only weakening its position, as Ukraine has already survived the winter, stabilized the battlefield and gained leverage over Russia.
