- Meeting with sanctioned Russian resulted in 28-point plan, say sources
- Witkoff, Kushner were at the meeting, say sources
- Plan has stirred confusion in Washington, Europe
World
Senate races are roiled by campus protests over the war in Gaza as campaign rhetoric sharpens
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The student protest movement disrupting university campuses, classes and graduation ceremonies over the war in Gaza is also roiling Senate contests across the nation as Democrats tread cautiously over an internal divide and Republicans play up their rivals’ disagreements.
The political impact of the protests on the White House campaign has drawn considerable attention, with opposition to President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war reverberating from Columbia to UCLA. The fast-evolving landscape of the demonstrations is shaping pivotal Senate races, too.
Tent encampments have popped up at universities in many states where Democrats this election year are defending seats essential to maintaining the party’s razor-thin Senate majority. At some schools, police crackdowns and arrests have followed.
The protests have sharpened the campaign rhetoric in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Ohio and Michigan, among other places. Republican candidates in California and Florida have stepped up their criticism of the Democratic president for the U.S. response to the war or for chaotic scenes on American campuses.
Some Republicans have shown up at encampments, including one at George Washington University, not far from the White House. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is facing reelection, said on social media that he went there to show solidarity with Jewish students. “We need to do all we can to protect them,” he said.
Republican candidate David McCormick, during a visit to the University of Pennsylvania, said protesters at the Ivy League school did not know the “difference between right and wrong, good and evil,” and were creating a hostile atmosphere for Jewish students.
McCormick has decried what he frames as a lack of leadership and moral clarity on the part of his Democratic opponent, Sen. Bob Casey, as well as by Biden and administrators at the school buffeted by accusations of harboring antisemitism.
“What’s happening on campuses is clearly a test of leadership and moral courage, both for the college presidents and for our leaders and for Sen. Casey and President Biden,” McCormick said in an interview.
Israel and its supporters say the protests are antisemitic, a charge that Israel’s critics say is sometimes used to silence legitimate opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at trying to save the lives of Palestinians civilians.
Many Democrats, from Biden on down, avoided saying much about the situation until recently as universities began to crack down and comparisons were made to anti-war protests of the 1960s.
Even then, Democrats balanced their criticism of antisemitism and rule-breakers with the need to protect the right to free expression and peaceful protest. Some have tried to avoid taking sides in protests that have pitted pro-Israeli versus pro-Palestinian Democrats and divided important parts of the party’s base, including Jewish, Arab American and younger voters.
Republicans, meanwhile, have railed at what they characterized as equivocating or silence by Democrats. Republicans professed solidarity with Jews against antisemitism while condemning the protests as lawless.
Mike Rogers, a Republican seeking an open Senate seat in Michigan, said student protesters at Columbia were “Hamas sympathizers.” In California, GOP Senate candidate Steve Garvey called them “terrorists” practicing “terrorism disguised as free speech.”
In five states, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, is using the protests in digital ads about student loan forgiveness, saying Democrats want to pay off the loans of students “radicalized by the far left” who are “threatening Jews,” “attacking police” and “acting like terrorists.”
McCormick and others say universities that, in their view, tolerate antisemitism should lose federal subsidies and that visas should be revoked for any foreign student inciting violence or expressing pro-Hamas sentiments at the encampments.
Casey, long a staunch supporter of Israel, has criticized acts of antisemitism on campuses and pointed to legislation he sponsored as a way to make sure the Education Department takes action.
“Students of course have the right to peacefully protest, but when it crosses the line either into violence or discrimination, then we have an obligation to step in and stop that conduct,” Casey said Thursday as he urged colleagues to pass his bill.
Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who is Jewish and facing reelection, said she was “horrified” by displays of antisemitism on campuses and, like Casey, called for the department to hold schools accountable.
In California, U.S. Rep Adam Schiff, the Democratic nominee for an open Senate seat, took aim at the Columbia demonstration and said “antisemitic and hateful rhetoric is being loudly and proudly displayed.” Accused by Garvey of being “incredibly silent” on the protests, Schiff, who is Jewish, voted for a House bill similar to Casey’s and released a statement that condemned violence and the “explicit, repeated targeting and intimidation of Jewish students.”
Republicans elsewhere contended statements by Democrats were equivocating and inadequate.
Republicans called out Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, after he told an Axios reporter last week that he was “not going to talk about the politics of that. People always have the right to speak out and should.”
His Republican opponent, Bernie Moreno, charged that Brown had “wholeheartedly endorsed these vile and violent antisemitic demonstrations.”
Later, at a news conference, Brown gave more expansive comments. “Students want to make their voices heard, they need to do it in a way that’s nonviolent, they need to do it in a way that doesn’t spew hatred, and laws need to be enforced,” he said.
In Michigan, which has a relatively significant Muslim population, Biden’s handling of the war is expected to factor heavily into the presidential and Senate races.
Rogers, a favorite for the GOP nomination, thanked New York City police for confronting protesters and “standing up to protect Jewish students at Columbia from the visceral hatred we’ve witnessed from Hamas sympathizers on their campus.”
Republicans argued that U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the front-runner for the Democratic nominationfor Senate, had not spoken out strongly against protests at Columbia, her alma mater, and that she took five days after they began to say anything at all.
Slotkin, who is Jewish, said in an April 22 statement — the most recent wave of demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 — that “the use of intimidation, antisemitic signs or slogans, or harassment, is unacceptable.”
It was, she suggested, a complicated topic.
“I would rather be thoughtful and take more time than have a knee-jerk answer for any issue,” Slotkin said in an interview. “But especially this one.”
__
Associated Press reporters Adam Beam in Sacramento, California; Joey Cappalletti in Lansing, Michigan; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Tassanee Vejpongsa in Philadelphia; and Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
By Euronews
Published on
As Europe Today prepares to launch, we turn to one of the journalists driving this new Euronews chapter. Starting Monday, Méabh Mc Mahon, one of Euronews’ most recognisable faces and a prominent figure in the Brussels media scene, will co-host the network’s new flagship morning show alongside Maria Tadeo.
A Brussels-based TV journalist with more than 15 years of experience, Méabh has reported on the EU and global affairs from the Brexit vote to the Brussels terrorist attacks. She has extensive experience as a field reporter and has travelled across the continent from Kyiv to Lisbon, often with just a mojo kit for broadcasting.
Speaking five languages, she previously served as a live correspondent for France24 before joining Euronews in 2018. She has interviewed global leaders, moderated major Euronews events and anchored the much-loved “Brussels, My Love?” — now a successful podcast she will continue to host as Chief Anchor.
Known for her “firm but fair” questioning and her deep knowledge of European politics, she now brings her sharp, authoritative voice to Europe Today. So, what can viewers expect from this new morning programme? Let’s hear from her.
Méabh, you’re going back to morning television. What can we expect on Monday from Europe Today?
“Expect sharp analysis, trust-worthy news updates and engaging content and guests. As a natural morning person, you can count on good humour too and great banter between myself and my exceptional co-host Maria Tadeo. With the ultimatum set by President Donald Trump for Ukraine, a lot is at stake next week for one of the most important moments in Europe’s history and a story we care deeply about at Euronews. We will try to make sense of it all to our viewers.”
Apart from Europe Today, where else can we find you on Euronews?
“You can also find me on Euronews’ brand new debating show “The Ring” which aims to bring European Parliament debates to your sitting room. Viewers already told us they love this new informative but entertaining format so it is a pleasure to be part of the great team. And once a week, I am producing and hosting a podcast version of “Brussels, my love?” – which can bring you up to speed on the week in European politics. As someone who cares deeply about the challenges and threats facing the EU, I am pleased to be able to keep listeners informed with this friendly format.”
What names do you want to have on Europe Today?
“You can expect the big European players that are shaping Europe today to be regulars on Europe Today. Just like on national TV broadcasters, we will be joined by Commissioners, key MEPs, government ministers, CEOs and more. With our global outreach on TV, online and on social media, and the multi-lingual element of this show, there is no other way to share a message so quickly than on this brand new daily morning show. With so much at stake for the EU now and its attempt to stay relevant in these turbulent times, it is important for European leaders to speak to their voters and become regular faces on shows like Europe Today. Having interviewed Anthony Blinken just before the full scale war in Ukraine started, I am eager to speak to Marco Rubio as he has moved from a more traditional Republican with a very hawkish position on Russia to the more transactional ideological flexibility of President Trump.”
WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – U.S. officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under U.S. sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia’s largest sovereign wealth funds.
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A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev has taken a leading role in talks with the U.S. about the war and has met with Witkoff several times this year. The Trump administration has issued a special waiver to allow his entry, one senior U.S. official told Reuters.
Dmitriev and his fund were blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively bar American citizens and companies from dealing with them.
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public earlier this week by Axios, came as a surprise to U.S. officials in various corners of the administration and has stirred confusion at embassies throughout Washington and in European capitals.
It has also prompted criticism from the Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowing on Friday that he would not betray Ukraine’s interests.
The document, which calls for major concessions from Ukraine, appears to run counter to the tougher stance the Trump administration has lately taken toward Moscow, including with sanctions on its energy sector.
It’s unclear whether Dmitriev came to the meeting in Miami with certain Russian demands and whether those were incorporated into the peace plan.
Two people familiar with the meeting said Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, was also in Miami early this week to discuss the plan with Witkoff.
One source familiar with the situation said that Witkoff told Umerov about the plan during that visit and that the United States gave the plan to Ukraine via the Turkish government on Wednesday, before directly presenting it in Kyiv on Thursday.
Umerov has described his role as “technical” and denied that he discussed the plan in substance with U.S. officials.
Dmitriev and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that any peace plan “must offer security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe and Russia” and offer economic incentives to both Ukraine and Russia.
“This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, and to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give,” she said.
Trump said on Friday that he expected Zelenskiy to sign onto the plan by the Thanksgiving holiday. The U.S. has warned Ukraine it could curb military assistance if it does not sign, Reuters has reported.
SOME OFFICIALS CAUGHT OFF GUARD
Many senior officials inside the State Department and on the National Security Council were not briefed, the two people familiar with the plan said. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who had been working with the Ukrainians on negotiating an end to the war and plans to step down in January, also was cut out of the talks led by Witkoff and Dmitriev, they said.
One senior U.S. official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was read in on the 28-point plan, but didn’t clarify when he was briefed.
“Secretary Rubio has been closely involved throughout the entire process of developing a plan to end the war in Ukraine. Any insinuation otherwise is completely false. That includes speaking with both sides of this conflict – many times – to facilitate the…exchange of ideas to establish a durable peace,” said State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement.
U.S. officials and others consulted by Reuters disputed that characterization.
“There was no coordination, no one at State had seen this, not Rubio,” another U.S. official said. The official added that the plan contains material that the secretary of state had previously rejected.
Item 1 of 3 Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, talks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 11, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
[1/3]Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, talks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 11, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav… Purchase Licensing Rights
The situation has sparked worries inside the administration and on Capitol Hill that Witkoff and Kushner skirted the interagency process and that the discussions with Dmitriev have resulted in a plan that favors Russian interests.
It includes demands that Russia has previously made – that Ukraine give up some of its territory in the eastern part of the country that it still controls, recognize Crimea as Russian and pledge not to join NATO.
“This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace,” said Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
Experts also criticized the proposed deal.
“Putin said today the plan he saw is a ‘basis’ for a future agreement — likely a signal they plan on asking for inclusions and revisions on top of what is already a disadvantageous proposal for Kyiv,” said Dara Massicot of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “One week seems ambitious for resolution.”
CONCERNS ABOUT DMITRIEV
The administration’s discussions with Dmitriev have also worried some inside the intelligence community, one U.S. official familiar with the matter said.
Dmitriev has previously used his role at RDIF to make inroads with various Western governments and businesses, even amid American sanctions.
The CIA declined to comment about concerns within the intelligence community about Dmitriev.
During the first Trump administration, Dmitriev established contacts with the president’s team to reset relations between Washington and Moscow.
In a 2017 meeting with Erik Prince, the former CEO of Blackwater and a Trump ally, Dmitriev discussed U.S.-Russia relations, according to a Department of Justice report published by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2019. Mueller’s team was investigating ties between the Trump team and Russia.
In a separate meeting with a friend of Kushner’s, Dmitriev drafted a reconciliation plan to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Russia, the report says.
The Mueller team said in its report that it did not establish that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russians to influence the 2016 election.
Dmitriev also worked directly with Kushner during the first administration. During the pandemic, Dmitriev coordinated with Kushner on the delivery of ventilators to the U.S. The ventilators were provided by RDIF and caused concern among officials at the Treasury Department that the U.S. might be violating its own sanctions, according to a senior U.S. official.
In recent years, Dmitriev has appeared on various American television stations and at events like the World Economic Forum in Davos, to promote the strengthening of trade ties between the U.S. and Russia.
He pushed a similar message at the meeting in Miami, according to public readouts of the meeting.
His visit also included a sit-down with U.S. Representative Anna Luna, a Florida Republican. In the meeting, Dmitriev and Luna spoke about increasing trade ties between the U.S. and Russia. Rep. Luna’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The meeting between the two was set earlier in the month amid statements by Luna that she had received Russia’s JFK files.
In a video by RIA, one of Russia’s state news agencies, Luna is seen accepting a box of chocolates with Putin’s face inscribed on the front.
The images appear to show Luna and Dmitriev in a conference room at the Faena Hotel in Miami.
The Faena Hotel is owned by Access Industries, a company run by Len Blavatnik, a Russian billionaire, according to the company’s website. Blavatnik made his money partnering with Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by the U.S. for his ties to Putin. Witkoff’s company, the Witkoff Group, does business with Blavatnik, including in Miami.
(This story has been corrected to fix the reference to Umerov as Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, not defense minister, in paragraph 9)
Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth in Kyiv and Patricia Zengerle and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Diane Craft
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Gunmen abducted 303 children and 12 teachers in an attack on St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Nigeria. Initial reports indicated that at least 52 had been kidnapped before the tally was increased to over 200 children and then to its final count of 303.
Most. Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said in a statement that the total number of kidnapped was determined “after a verification exercise and a final census was carried out,” according to The Associated Press. Yohanna is the chairman of the Niger state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who visited the school on Friday. The AP noted that the students who were kidnapped were male and female and ranged in age from 10 to 18.
GUNMEN ATTACK CHURCH IN NIGERIA, KILLING TWO AND KIDNAPPING OTHERS
In this photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walks past belongings at the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, according to the AP. The outlet added that authorities said tactical squads and local hunters were working to rescue the kidnapped children.
After the attack, the state government said that St. Mary’s School reopened despite warnings of increased threats. However, Yohanna denied this claim, the AP reported.
“We did not receive any circular. It must be an afterthought and a way to shift blame,” he said, according to the AP.
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria on Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
RAP STAR NICKI MINAJ THANKS TRUMP FOR ADDRESSING PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA
The attack at St. Mary’s follows a similar incident earlier this week in which armed attackers kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. The search for the abducted schoolgirls is still underway.
A woman looks on as she walks past a classroom in Shehu Kangiwa Model Primary School in Argungu, Kebbi State, in northern Nigeria on April 12, 2025. (Leslie Fauvel / AFP via Getty Images)
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Nigeria has seen a series of attacks on Christians and their institutions, prompting President Donald Trump to declare the West African nation a “country of particular concern.” However, the Nigerian government has disputed the U.S.’s claims.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria “genocide wearing the mask of chaos.” He was joined by rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who called for religious freedom for all.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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