In a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff praised the Russian dictator as a “humanitarian” for releasing American Stephen Hubbard, who was wrongfully detained after being captured in Ukraine in 2022. His release surely does not justify calling Putin a humanitarian.

Words matter. Especially when those words are spoken by a high-level diplomat like Witkoff. Calling Putin a humanitarian is an insult to the families of the thousands of Ukrainian civilians who have been murdered, tortured and raped during the war. It is an insult to millions of Ukrainians who go to bed every night not knowing if they will survive the nightly barrage of Russian missiles and drones targeting civilians.

Putin may be called many things. Humanitarian is not one of them.

Joel R. Levin, Glenview