Senior US military leaders arrived in Ukraine this week amid developing hypotheses that Washington and Moscow may be exploring an unused system to halt the ongoing conflict. According to the US military, the assignment is in Kyiv to examine conceivable ways to end the war.
US Armed Forces Secretary Dan Driscoll leads the group, with plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
Speculation Over a New US-Russia Peace Framework
Rumors surfaced on Wednesday suggesting that both the US and Russia had been working on a draft peace proposal that would require major compromises from Ukraine—including surrendering still-held territories and significantly reducing the size of its armed forces.
The reported initiative is said to have been crafted by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s designated negotiator.
However, neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the existence of such a plan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on X that achieving a lasting peace would involve “difficult but necessary concessions from both sides,” adding that the US was continuing to explore multiple ideas for ending the war.
European Leaders Resist Concession-Driven Framework
European leaders pushed back on Thursday, cautioning that any settlement must reflect the positions of Ukraine and its allies.
EU remote approach chief Kaja Kallas stressed that any understanding must “have Ukrainians and Europeans on board,”. In contrast, French Remote Serve Jean-Noël Barrot demanded that Kyiv “does not need any kind of capitulation.”
The rise of the draft arrangement coincided with a dangerous Russian strike on the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, where at least 26 individuals were murdered after rockets and shelling hit private buildings. President Zelensky afterward said that another 22 individuals remained unaccounted for.
Russia launched its full-scale intrusion in 2022.
Unconfirmed Reports of Cancelled Talks in Turkey
Zelensky was going through Turkey at the time of the Ternopil assault. Ukrainian media, citing anonymous sources, detailed that an assembly with Trump’s emissary may have been arranged in Ankara but was called off. This has not been officially confirmed.
US Army Delegation Focused on ‘Ending the War’
When Driscoll arrived in Kyiv late Wednesday, there was no mention of the rumored peace plan.
US Army spokesperson Col. David Butler described the visit simply as a fact-finding mission aimed at meeting Ukrainian officials and “discussing efforts to end the war.”
Driscoll’s delegation is the highest-ranking US military group to visit Ukraine since President Trump took office in January.
The army secretary is accompanied by:
- Gen. Randy George, US Army Chief of Staff
- Gen. Chris Donahue, senior US Army commander in Europe
- Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer, Sergeant Major of the US Army
A Ukrainian official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that discussions would center on battlefield conditions and potential steps toward a ceasefire.
The official also claimed that Presidents Zelensky and Trump have as of now concurred to stop dangers along current front-line positions and have come to a preparatory understanding on future security guarantees.
Ukrainian Protection Service Denys Shmyhal said after the assembly, Driscoll, that talks centered on executing resistance commitments already concurred by both presidents.
Details Emerge About the 28-Point Witkoff-Dmitriev Proposal
Reports from Axios, the Financial Times, and Reuters—citing sources familiar with the discussions—indicate that the draft plan includes:
- Ukraine is giving up the remaining areas of the Donbas under its control
- A major reduction in the size of the Ukrainian military
- The loss of a significant portion of Kyiv’s current weaponry
Neither the Ukrainian nor the European governments were included in the dialogues that delivered the draft plan.
President Zelensky has more than once said he will not acknowledge any regional concessions.
Dmitriev’s group has declined comment, and the White House has not, however, reacted to demands for clarification.
Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports, saying Russia had “no modern developments” past what he portrayed as the “spirit of Anchorage,” a reference to the Anchorage summit between Presidents Putin and Trump in the frozen north. Points of interest of that assembly were never made public.
Ceasefire Requests Stay a Sticking Point
Ukraine and its Western accomplices proceed to press for an immediate ceasefire along the front line. Moscow has rejected this, repeating requests that Kyiv says amount to constrained capitulation.
Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia’s core conditions—including territorial concessions, strict limits on Ukraine’s military strength, and a requirement for neutrality—remain unchanged from Moscow’s 2024 position.
Shake-up in US-Ukraine Policy Team
A White House official confirmed that Keith Kellogg, the special envoy to Ukraine, will leave his post in January. The position requires Senate approval after 360 days, and Kellogg reportedly sees this as a natural endpoint.
He has been viewed as one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters inside the Trump administration, even as the president has often taken positions perceived as more favorable to Moscow.
