Is Washington Negotiating Russia’s Terms to Ukraine? | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS

September 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In early September 2025, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, then flew directly to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelensky. The sequence itself became the episode's central argument: Washington is negotiating Russia's terms to Ukraine rather than backing the side it is supposedly allied with. As one panelist put it, "the United States is doing this makes Washington kind of the broker of Russia's terms."

The pattern of going to Moscow first

The hosts pointed out that this was not an isolated incident. During the Trump administration, phone calls with Putin routinely preceded calls with Zelensky. The delegation's visit followed the same choreography: Moscow first, then Kyiv. The Russian side framed the visit publicly as "peace makers arriving in Moscow," a phrase that carries a specific political valence. Meanwhile, the U.S. delegation thanked Putin for releasing Marine veteran Robert Gilman, who had been held as a political prisoner for four years. The panel noted that these releases are never free—something was exchanged, and the public has not been told what.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:24) **Opening & Delegation to Moscow/Kyiv** - Host introduces panel (Jonathan Hackett, Mick Mulroy, Andy Milburn) and discusses the Witkoff/Kushner visit to Moscow then Kyiv.
2 (06:16) **Main Thesis: US as Broker of Russia's Terms** - The panel argues the US approach is undermining Ukraine by treating Russian concessions as goodwill rewards and negotiating from a position of weakness.
3 (10:45) **Proposed Solution: Flip the Negotiation Order** - The panel outlines a simple alternative: go to Kyiv first, agree terms with Ukraine and Europeans, then present them in Moscow.
4 (14:13) **Contradictory US Messaging on Ukraine** - The panel highlights how US officials publicly frame Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil as a problem, comparing them to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.
5 (18:09) **Unity of Iran and Russia Theaters** - The panel connects the Ukraine and Iran conflicts, noting shared military and financial links between Russia and Iran.
6 (22:03) **Iran's Hypersonic Missile Threat** - Discussion shifts to Iran's use of hypersonic-class missiles against US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
7 (28:01) **Risk of Escalation with Iran** - The panel warns that a single successful Iranian strike on a US vessel could dramatically escalate the conflict.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Steve Witkoff Jared Kushner

Show Notes

We break down the latest U.S. diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine, Iran’s missile threat to American warships, and the growing strain on U.S. Patriot and THAAD interceptor stockpiles. We also look at what the wars in Ukraine and Iran are exposing about America’s defense industrial base, autonomous warfare, and whether the Pentagon can adapt fast enough for a potential conflict with China.
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00:00 – Start
00:21 – Witkoff & Kushner Meet Putin in Moscow
04:50 – What Did Russia Get in Exchange for Robert Gilman?
07:33 – Is Washington Carrying Russia’s Terms to Ukraine?
11:11 – What U.S. Allies Are Learning From the Ukraine Negotiations
12:21 – What the U.S. Could Do Differently With Russia
15:09 – Why Ukraine Keeps Striking Russian Oil Infrastructure
18:34 – How the Russia and Iran Wars Are Connected
21:19 – The Problem With Seized Russian Oligarch Yachts
22:17 – Iran’s “Hypersonic” Missile Threat to U.S. Warships
25:38 – Are Iran’s Missiles Actually Hypersonic?
28:14 – What Happens If Iran Hits a U.S. Navy Ship?
30:39 – The Bigger Problem: Running Out of Interceptors
31:45 – AEI Report Warns of Major U.S. Missile Defense Shortfalls
36:12 – How Depleted Are America’s PAC-3 Stocks?
37:26 – Could the U.S. Sustain a War With China?
39:24 – Is the Pentagon Spending Money in the Wrong Places?
41:16 – The Gulf, Ukrai