The sister of Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev made a secretive visit to Ukraine earlier this year using an American passport, raising serious questions about her movements and family connections at a critical moment in wartime diplomacy. Natalia Dmitriyeva entered Ukraine on 8 February 2025 and departed four days later, according to Ukrainian border control records. Her visit came just days before quiet negotiations between Russian, American and Ukrainian representatives were set to take place in Saudi Arabia regarding a possible resolution to the ongoing war.
The revelation was made by American investigative journalist Kate Livingston on social media platform X. She reported that Natalia and her mother, Tamara Shevchenko, had left Ukraine in early 2022 following the Russian dictator’s full invasion of the country. Both previously held Ukrainian passports but appear to have since acquired United States citizenship. The process and timeline of obtaining their U.S. documents remains unclear.
According to Livingston, the Dmitriev family may also possess more assets in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe than has been officially reported. The visit has sparked further speculation about the ties between Kremlin elites and Western nations, as well as the extent of their property and influence abroad.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, spent over a decade in the United States, graduating from both Stanford and Harvard. He has long been part of the inner circle of the Russian dictator and is closely linked to the Kremlin’s diplomatic outreach. His wife is a friend of the dictator’s daughter, and he is reportedly one of the most trusted figures within the regime.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Vitkoff, who is in contact with Dmitriev, is scheduled to visit Moscow this week. Vitkoff previously suggested to President Donald Trump that the United States support the handover of four occupied Ukrainian regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson—to Russia as part of a so-called peace deal. Trump, a controversial figure with known sympathies toward Russian interests, has not publicly responded.
