ISW: Kremlin sends Dmitriev to U.S. to push propaganda as war pressure builds

Dmitriev gave several interviews to U.S. media during a trip that coincided with new American sanctions against Russian oil companies, reports that Washington had authorized Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, and ongoing debates over supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv, ISW noted.

Analysts said the Kremlin’s decision to send Dmitriev on a U.S. media tour indicates that “Russia is alarmed” by the consequences of such U.S. policies. In recent weeks, Kremlin officials have tried to downplay the effects of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy and the impact of Ukraine’s long-range strikes. Dmitriev repeated these talking points in his interviews.

The report also said Dmitriev effectively acknowledged that Ukraine had made concessions in its negotiating stance, while confirming that Russia’s maximalist demands remain unchanged. The special envoy of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin admitted that Kyiv had adjusted its position and offered compromises, including a ceasefire along current front lines. He also claimed that Moscow seeks a “final resolution” to the war to prevent future conflict — language the Kremlin has used in the past to insist any peace settlement address the supposed “root causes” of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The Kremlin invokes these so-called “root causes” to demand the replacement of Ukraine’s current leadership with a Russian puppet government, a commitment to neutrality, and the abandonment of NATO’s open-door policy, the ISW report said.

Statements by Dmitriev and other Kremlin officials echo long-standing Russian demands directed at NATO and Ukraine, dating back to December 2021 and February 2022, ISW concluded.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, arrived in the United States on Oct. 24 for what were described as “official” talks. The visit came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new sanctions against Russia.

As CNN reported, Dmitriev’s trip also comes amid growing frustration in Washington over the Kremlin’s refusal to end the war in Ukraine — and shortly after the American president canceled a planned summit with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.