Downing Street rejects US envoy's 'humanitarian' label for Putin

Downing Street has rejected a description of Vladimir Putin as a "humanitarian" made by US special envoy Steve Witkoff during his meeting with the Russian leader this week. A Downing Street spokeswoman said the government does not recognise the characterisation, citing Putin's responsibility for killing thousands of innocent Ukrainians and Russian soldiers, starving children and the elderly, and targeting critical infrastructure. She echoed Ukraine's foreign minister, who said Kyiv residents heard what "Russian humanitarianism really sounds like" during overnight missile strikes. The rejection follows Witkoff's meeting with Putin, after which Moscow agreed in principle to resume peace talks with Ukraine and the US. President Trump suggested the sides are "maybe now the closest we've been" to ending the war, though Russia has continued launching missile strikes at Kyiv.