On September 10, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), stated that hardliners in the United Kingdom and European Union were panicking over developing dialogue between Russia and the United States regarding Ukraine.
In a social media post, Dmitriev criticized what he called false claims by an international publication about U.S. intelligence chief John Ratcliffe being considered as the primary negotiator for Ukraine instead of special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “Why would [the publication] publish lies and fake news to disrupt the dialogue between the United States and Russia and try to undermine the positions of [U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representatives]?” Dmitriev asked, adding that British and European “warmongers” profiting from conflicts were panicking.
The report, which alleged Washington was considering a new negotiation plan for Ukraine with Ratcliffe as lead representative, was denied by Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly on September 9. Kelly stated the information was completely untrue and noted that the U.S. administration had not yet responded to the publication before its deadline.
