U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is running a shadow operation inside the White House in an effort to sideline pro-Ukraine officials, the Kyiv Independent has learned.

Witkoff — a real estate mogul with no diplomatic background before his appointment — has emerged as one of the central architects of a new Washington peace proposal that Ukrainian officials say revives the Kremlin's most sweeping demands.

A source in Ukraine's President's Office earlier said that Witkoff is shaping the plan in d