US Officials in Kyiv as Europe Rejects Russia Peace Plan

The US military has said that senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to "discuss efforts to end the war" with Russia.

sarah

Nov 20, 2025 - 21:19

US Officials in Kyiv as Europe Rejects Russia Peace Plan

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's leadership team spoke with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko on Thursday morning. They are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day.

Reports emerged on Wednesday that the US and Russia have prepared a new proposed framework to end the war, demanding major concessions from Ukraine, including the withdrawal of territory and a significant reduction in its military.

It is said to have been prepared by President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russia's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.

Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that "both sides will have to agree to difficult but necessary concessions to achieve a lasting peace."

He said the US is consulting with both sides of the conflict to "create a list of possible ideas to end this war."

Driscoll's team is the most senior military group to visit Kyiv since Trump took office in January. He is accompanied by Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, the top US Army commander in Europe, General Chris Donahue, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer.

Details of the draft Witkoff-Dmitriev 28-point plan emerged more than three weeks after the two men reportedly met for three days in Miami, Florida.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Axios, the Financial Times, and Reuters reported that the plan would require Kyiv to abandon the areas of Donbas in eastern Ukraine it still controls, significantly reduce the size of its armed forces, and abandon many of its weapons.

Zelensky has repeatedly refused to grant any territorial concessions to Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that there have been "contacts" with the US, but no "consultations or negotiations" are taking place. It is believed that neither European nor Ukrainian officials were involved in the development of the new proposal, raising fears that it could be too favorable to Russia.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Thursday that any plan would need the support of Ukrainians and Europeans for it to work, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that "Ukrainians do not want any kind of surrender."

After meeting with US officials, the Ukrainian Prime Minister did not address the rumored plan – but said that his visit "allowed representatives of the US administration to assess the situation on the ground and see the consequences of a Russian attack."

Reports of this plan emerged on Wednesday, the same day Ukrainian officials said at least 26 people were killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on blocks of flats in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil. Zelensky said on Thursday that 22 more people were missing at the scene. Zelensky was in Turkey at the time of the Ternopil attack, and unconfirmed Ukrainian reports indicated that talks with Trump's envoy in Ankara had been planned but canceled.

When the US Army Secretary arrived in Kyiv late Wednesday, there was no mention of the proposed framework. Army spokesman Colonel David Butler said only that Driscoll and his team were there on a fact-finding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials on behalf of the [Trump] administration and discuss efforts to end the war.

A Ukrainian official told CBS, the BBC's US media partner, that discussions on the trip would focus on the military situation on the ground—as well as potential ceasefire plans.

The unnamed official said: "President Zelensky and Trump have already agreed to stop the fighting through existing negotiation channels, and agreements have also been reached on providing security guarantees."

After talks with the US Army Secretary on Wednesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal posted on X: "We focused on the next steps to implement the historic defense agreement reached between President Zelensky and President Trump."

Kyiv and its Western partners, including the US, are demanding an immediate ceasefire along a large front line, but Moscow has refused, reiterating demands that Ukraine says are essentially a surrender.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow's pre-set conditions for a peace deal – including ceding territory, strict controls on the size of Ukraine's military, and the country's neutrality – have not changed since Putin outlined them in 2024.

He reportedly decided this would be a natural end to his tenure in the post, which requires Senate approval beyond 360 days.

Kellogg has been seen as a key supporter of Ukraine.