Politics

Alastair Campbell eviscerates ‘disgraceful’ Steve Witkoff over Putin ‘humanitarian’ comments

Alastair Campbell has torn into US envoy Steve Witkoff after he outrageously labelled Vladimir Putin a “humanitarian.”

On Wednesday, Witkoff was in St Petersburg for a face-to-face meeting with Putin surrounding the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian jail.

Following Hubbard’s release, Witkoff lauded Putin as a “humanitarian.”

The comments have sparked understandable outrage from all corners, and are the latest evidence of Donald Trump’s administration being on Putin and Russia’s side in the war against Ukraine.

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Reacting to Witkoff’s words, Alastair Campbell said he was a “disgrace on so many levels.”

After accusing the real estate investor of “doing business deals left, right and centre for himself and his sons,” Campbell said: “He treats Zelensky with contempt.”

He continued: “There are tens of thousands of Ukrainian children who have been taken to Russia, and he calls him a humanitarian.

“Yesterday, there were children killed as a result of Putin being able to bomb in the way that he is because he thinks he’s got impunity in this key relationship with Donald Trump.

“I find the whole thing nauseating,” he added.

During an appearance on LBC on Wednesday night, Campbell described Witkoff’s behaviour as “disgusting” and the “worst form of bootlicking.”

He said that he now believes that Trump and the US are “absolutely on Putin’s side” in the war.

“Putin is laughing inside every time that guy arrives in town,” Campbell added.

Overnight, Russia launched a huge bombardment on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, just hours after Witkoff’s comments.

At least one person has been killed and 24 injured as Russian missiles rained down on a number of houses on Wednesday night, the Kyiv Post reports.

A bridge, an ambulance station and residential buildings were struck during the attack.

Over the last couple of weeks, Trump has been cosying up to Putin.

He caused shock and anger when he struck a deal with Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to bring down pump prices in the US ahead of next month’s crucial mid-terms.

The US president also waived strict economic sanctions on Moscow just two days before they were due to come into force.

Over the weekend, Trump issued a lengthy statement making clear his pro-Russian stance and going as far as accusing Zelensky of wanting the war in Ukraine to continue.

At the same time, a decision was reportedly taken by Elon Musk to deliberately restrict Starlink access for the Ukrainian military.

Charlie Herbert

Charlie is content editor and writer at the London Economic. With a keen interest in politics, he has worked on both the 2019 and 2024 general elections, and joined TLE full time in January 2025. Since then, it's safe to say there's been plenty to keep him busy on both sides of the Atlantic.