Why Russia leaked the Witkoff–Ushakov conversation: Analyst Denysenko explains

Head of the analytical center “Dilova Stolytsia” Vadym Denysenko commented on the published conversations between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, which the Russian side handed over to the media.

He believes the leak serves a clear political goal — trying to derail the peace process.

Denysenko notes that the way it was leaked is rather crude; the Russians even released an additional conversation between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev to hide the original source.

The analyst says the Kremlin is playing its usual game: sowing information chaos and triggering a scandal in the United States. Having failed to achieve this through Ukraine, Moscow is now betting on U.S. domestic politics.

Denysenko points out that Moscow did not expect such pressure from Trump. Putin has no interest in ending the war, because a ceasefire would amount to capitulation — an official recognition that Russia is losing its shot at becoming the “third world pole.”

To avoid this, the Kremlin aims to spark a major scandal in the U.S. that could derail the process. Yet, the expert suggests the current leak might backfire — Trump could end up speeding up the negotiations instead.

Denysenko identifies three factors that continue to hinder agreements:

• territorial issues

• security guarantees for Europe

• Putin’s unwillingness to end the war

He notes that Trump has, for the first time, spoken directly about guarantees for Europe, indicating that this particular issue could be resolved.

Two major hurdles remain: territorial disputes and Putin’s outright refusal to make peace.

Denysenko predicts that if the Russian president tries to withdraw from the process, sanctions will intensify sharply and Russia will become even more reliant on China.