KYIV, Nov 26: Ukraine says it has reached a shared position with the US on a proposed peace plan to end the war with Russia. The agreement builds on a 28-point proposal Washington shared with Kyiv last week, which both sides revised during talks in Geneva, according to reporting from the BBC.
Donald Trump said on social media that the draft had been adjusted after feedback from both capitals. He added that envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, while US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll would meet Ukrainian officials. Zelensky’s chief of staff expects Driscoll in Kyiv within days, as noted by the BBC.
Moscow has pushed back, saying it has not been consulted on the updated document. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia backed the earlier US outline, but warned that major revisions would alter the situation. He added that the Kremlin had not yet received the new version and accused European governments of weakening US efforts, according to BBC coverage.
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Washington has not responded publicly to those complaints, though Driscoll did meet Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday. Key issues still divide Moscow and Kyiv, including long-term security commitments for Ukraine and the future of contested areas in the east, according to the BBC.
Zelensky signaled he is prepared to meet Trump this month to work through the remaining sticking points. He said progress depends heavily on Washington’s role, since Russia watches US moves closely. The White House has stayed silent on possible talks, while Trump has said any meeting with Zelensky or Putin will come only when a deal is nearly settled, as relayed by the BBC.
European leaders sounded cautious. Macron said he saw no sign Moscow was ready to pause fighting, and the UK warned that any path to peace would be difficult. Leaders from Europe’s “Coalition of the Willing” met virtually with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and agreed to form a task force to speed up work on potential security guarantees for Kyiv, according to the BBC.
Those guarantees remain one of the biggest gaps between the two sides. Zelensky said Putin still demands legal recognition of all occupied areas. Russia insists Ukraine must pull out of the entire Donbas and accepts its control of Crimea and large parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as outlined by BBC reports.
Fighting carried on Tuesday night in Zaporizhzhia, where both sides reported strikes. Ukrainian officials said seven people were hurt, while the Russian-instated administration reported major power outages. The human toll remains immense since Russia’s full invasion in February 2022, with mass displacement and heavy military and civilian losses, the BBC noted.
