Republican Senator Thom Tillis blasted US special envoy Steve Witkoff after he praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Russia.On Wednesday, Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine. According to the New York Post, during the meeting, Witkoff addressed Putin, saying:"You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir. I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again."Witkoff's praise for Putin, however, faced criticism from many. Outgoing GOP Senator Thom Tillis also reacted to Steve Witkoff's comment in an X post. Sharing a screenshot showing the meaning of the term "humanitarian," Tillis wrote:"WTF, Steve? Look up the definition of 'humanitarian.' 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.'"Thom Tillis has vocally opposed Trump's current stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He recently called it "beyond irresponsible" after Trump signed an executive order to lift sanctions on Russia under the Lindsey Graham Act.In addition to Thom Tillis, other lawmakers, including Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Chris Coons, Rep. James Walkinshaw, Rep. Haley Stevens, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, also expressed their resentment over the US envoy calling the Russian president "humanitarian."Notably, the meeting between the Kremlin chief and Steve Witkoff began with Russia releasing US retired teacher Stephen Hubbard, who was captured by Moscow in Ukraine in 2022. Per NBC, Russia had earlier convicted Hubbard of serving as a mercenary.Vice President JD Vance defended Witkoff for calling Putin a "humanitarian" following Hubbard's release. When a reporter asked Vance on Wednesday if he agreed with Witkoff, the vice president replied:"I agree with Steve Witkoff saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage."Trump says Russia agreed to release Stephen Hubbard after his direct request to PutinAccording to a Wednesday Truth Social post from Trump's account, Moscow agreed to release Stephen Hubbard after the POTUS made a direct request to the Russian president over a phone call last week. The post further read:"The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return - an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no 'swap' necessary for this release. This major return should have taken place long ago through the Biden Administration, which got nowhere in its negotiations with the Kremlin."A subsequent Truth Social post claimed that many people who pushed back against Trump for not imposing sanctions on Russia had reached out to the POTUS to apologize following Hubbard's release."Numerous people, who requested that sanctions be immediately imposed on Russia, have called to apologize to President Trump in that they didn’t know that he was negotiating the release of Stephen Hubbard, a truly big and important deal for the U.S. If sanctions would have been placed, certainly those negotiations would have come to a complete and total halt," the post read.As reported by Reuters, following a meeting between Witkoff and the Russian president, Moscow agreed to three-way peace talks with Ukraine.