US Delegation Arrives Amid Russia Peace Plan Leak 1

Senior Pentagon leaders have travelled to Ukraine for discussions aimed at exploring ways to bring the conflict with Russia to an end, the US military announced.

The delegation—headed by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll—is scheduled to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday.

Their visit comes as reports circulated on Wednesday suggesting that the US and Russia have been drafting a new outline for a potential peace agreement. According to those reports, the plan would require major concessions from Kyiv, including relinquishing territory it continues to hold as well as drastically reducing the size of its armed forces.

Washington and Moscow have not formally acknowledged the proposal, which was reportedly devised by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in coordination with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Nevertheless, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that achieving a “lasting peace will demand difficult, though essential, compromises from both sides. For that reason, we are working on a range of potential pathways to end this war, informed by input from both parties involved.”

On Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas cautioned that any settlement would require the backing of Ukrainians and European partners. France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, echoed this sentiment, stressing that “the Ukrainians categorically reject any form of capitulation.”

The emergence of reports about a possible US-Russia peace initiative coincided with a devastating Russian missile and drone strike that killed at least 26 people in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil. Zelensky said on Thursday that another 22 individuals remained unaccounted for in the rubble of damaged residential buildings.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Zelensky happened to be in Turkey when the Ternopil attack took place, and unconfirmed Ukrainian accounts suggested that talks may have been scheduled with Trump’s envoy in Ankara but were later cancelled.

When Driscoll arrived in Kyiv late Wednesday, US officials made no mention of the reported framework under discussion. Army spokesperson Col David Butler said only that Driscoll and his team were in the country “on behalf of the [Trump] administration on a fact-finding mission to engage Ukrainian officials and examine efforts to bring the conflict to a close.”

The group visiting Kyiv is the highest-ranking US military delegation to travel to the Ukrainian capital since Trump assumed office in January. Driscoll is accompanied by Army Chief of Staff Gen Randy George, US Army Europe commander Gen Chris Donahue, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer.

A Ukrainian official told CBS—partner of the BBC’s US service—that the meetings would centre on the military realities on the battlefield and on preliminary ideas for a potential ceasefire.

According to the unnamed official, “Presidents Zelensky and Trump have already agreed to halt hostilities along the current lines of engagement, and there are understandings on providing security guarantees.” Following his Wednesday discussions with Driscoll, Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on X: “Our talks concentrated on the next stages of implementing the historic defence arrangements reached by President Zelensky and President Trump.”

The draft 28-point Witkoff-Dmitriev plan reportedly surfaced more than three weeks after the two envoys held three days of meetings in Miami, Florida.

European and Ukrainian representatives are not thought to have participated in those discussions.

According to reporting from Axios, the Financial Times and Reuters—citing individuals familiar with the matter—the proposal envisions Ukraine surrendering the parts of the Donbas region it still controls, making deep cuts to the size of its military, and relinquishing many of its weapons.

Zelensky has consistently rejected any suggestion of territorial concessions to Russia.

A spokesperson for Dmitriev declined to comment on the reports, and the BBC has sought statements from the White House and a representative for Witkoff.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to play down the significance of the rumours. “In this situation, we have nothing to add beyond what we refer to as the ‘spirit of Anchorage,’” he told Russian state media on Wednesday, referencing the August meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska.

Any agreements produced at that one-day summit have not been publicly released.

Kyiv and its Western supporters—including the United States—have repeatedly demanded an immediate ceasefire along the vast front line. Moscow, however, has dismissed such calls and reiterated conditions that Ukraine says amount to a surrender in all but name.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow’s prerequisites for a peace agreement—including the cession of territory, strict limits on Ukraine’s military size, and Ukrainian neutrality—remain unchanged from the terms President Putin announced in 2024.

Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed to the BBC that US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg will depart his position in January.

He reportedly views that date as an appropriate endpoint for his tenure, as the role requires renewed Senate confirmation after 360 days.

Kellogg has been regarded as one of Ukraine’s strongest advocates within the White House at a time when President Trump has often been perceived as taking positions more favourable to Russia.