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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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An article published and later removed by Russian state media claimed U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were given jackets emblazoned with the Russian insignia, sparking speculation about the diplomatic gifts from their visit to Moscow.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special representative, was dressed for the cold weather as he met the American delegation at Vnukovo International Airport in the Russian capital on Thursday, wearing a white puffer jacket in his country's colors. After the summit, Russian state news agency Tass said the American envoys had received as gifts the same bulky puffer coat that Dmitriev wore at the airport, which included the word "Russia" written across the back.
Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Moscow following a trip to Abu Dhabi, where they had the first trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine since February. The talks ended without a breakthrough but with an agreement for a prisoner of war exchange from both sides.
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At the airport, Witkoff wore a brown wool overcoat, and video showed him giving Dmitriev a hug at the foot of the plane's steps while Kushner, who was wearing a black sweater with no coat, looked on.
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Tass Retracts Gift Claim
Ukrainian media outlets quickly picked up the claim, but the original Tass report has since been deleted.
Tass issued an apology replacing the article with a message that the story is "hereby annulled as the source's information could not be verified."
Newsweek has contacted Tass, the Kremlin and the White House for comment. Despite the viral speculation, there has been no independent confirmation that the gifts were exchanged.
Images of the Americans holding up the jackets were also widely shared on social media. However, the AI checker imagedetector.com, which Newsweek used, had a 99 percent certainty that the picture had been manipulated.
The outlet Ukraine News published a report about Dmitriev's meeting with the American delegation, and it included an image of the trio, dressed in suits, standing at the foot of the aircraft's steps.
In the photo, the U.S. envoys each hold up what appears to be the same red and white puffer jacket with the Russian Federation's coat of arms and matching red stitching that Putin's special representative had been photographed in on Thursday.
The image appears to be fake, given that all three men are wearing dark suits instead of the clothing they were seen wearing at the airport in footage of the meeting.
How Commentators Reacted to the Claim
Still, the image has been shared widely, commented upon and even mocked.
The news outlet Nexta, citing Tass' report, wrote on X, "The Americans left the Kremlin with some merch."
"Putin's special representative Kirill Dmitriev gifted Witkoff and Kushner puffer jackets with the inscription 'RUSSIA'—the same kind worn by the Russian Olympic team," Ukrainian blogger MilitaryNewsUA wrote.
Mykhailo Rohoza, who describes himself as a Ukrainian war veteran, wrote, "At least they'll have something warm to wear while negotiating with Putin."
"Witkoff and Kushner receive their hard-earned Team Russia varsity jackets," retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Moe Davis commented.
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What Putin Said After Moscow Meeting
In Moscow, Putin said in a statement after his meeting that Russia considers its state border the only clear "demarcation line" between Russia and Ukraine. Under Russian law, the country considers four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions as part of its territory.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, D.C., think tank, said the statement suggested Putin would accept only a peace settlement that grants Russia full control over the entire Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts—which would be unacceptable for Kyiv.
Putin's statement about the state border as a "demarcation line" also shows that "Moscow intends to retain its control over areas of northern Ukraine that it considers a necessary 'security zone,'" the ISW said, adding, "Putin continues to reject all meaningful Western security guarantees for post-war Ukraine."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Henry Holloway and Shakeema Edwards.
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