U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff faced backlash for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a humanitarian” after Moscow released an American who had been jailed for more than four years.

Witkoff, who has tried without success to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, on Wednesday heaped praise on Putin for releasing Stephen Hubbard, a former teacher from Michigan who faced charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.

“You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir,” Witkoff said during a face-to-face meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg. “And I salute that,” he added.

The comments align with the Trump administration’s increasingly light touch with Russia, which invaded neighbor Ukraine 4 1/2 years ago after annexing Crimea in 2014.

Top Trump Aide Steve Witkoff, to Vladimir Putin:"You talk so much about Trump being a humanitarian, you are a humanitarian also, sir. I salute you, and I commend you." pic.twitter.com/Bi6FxZNadS

“WTF, Steve?” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wrote on X, adding: “What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say.”

“You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a ‘humanitarian,’” continued the senator, who is not running for reelection.

“No,” wrote Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on X in a caption above a video of Witkoff praising the Russian leader. “Putin is stone cold killer.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) dismissed Witkoff’s characterization, calling Putin a “war criminal.”

“He’s assassinated political rivals and journalists, bombed hospitals, and started a war that has intentionally killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including women and children,” Kelly wrote on X.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) wrote that Putin “is a killer and a thug, murdering Ukrainian children, dropping bombs on neighborhoods, and tearing families apart.”

“Calling him a humanitarian is like calling Witkoff qualified or capable of doing this job. What are we doing here?” he added.

Another Republican lawmaker, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), also weighed in. “Another embarrassment,” he noted on the same platform.

Vice President JD Vance later Wednesday defended Witkoff’s remarks when asked by a reporter whether he agreed with the comment.

“I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage,” he replied, adding Witkoff is a “diplomat” who was trying to “get a job done.”

In the past two weeks, President Donald Trump has waived fresh sanctions on Putin and resumed buying Russian diesel. Questions also remain over the White House’s involvement in slowing down critical U.S.-provided Starlink internet services in Ukraine, leading to the deaths of innocent civilians.

Earlier this week, Trump disregarded Moscow’s latest round of missile attacks by claiming, “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine.”

“They haven’t been doing much,” he added.

The United Nations reported at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured, as a result of Putin’s attacks on Ukraine in September alone.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, accusing him of a war crime for illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

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