Top US officials hold talks in Ukraine on ending war with Russia

The U.S. military said senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to “discuss efforts to end the war” with Russia.

A team led by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Thursday after returning from a trip to Turkey.

Reports emerged on Wednesday that the United States and Russia have developed a new peace plan that includes significant concessions for Ukraine. Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan.

earlier that day, Russian missiles and drones attack the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, killing at least 26 people officials there said. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Secretary Driscoll and his team arrived in Kyiv this morning on behalf of the administration on a fact-finding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war,” Army spokesman Col. David Butler said in a statement.

Driscoll was joined by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, U.S. Army Europe’s top commander Gen. Chris Donahue and Army Maj. Michael Weimer.

Driscoll and Gen. George are the most senior U.S. military officials to hold talks in the Ukrainian capital since President Donald Trump took office in January.

A photo on Wednesday showed Driscoll meeting and shaking hands with Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmyhal.

Later, Shmihal posted on X: “Our focus is on the next steps to implement the historic defense agreement reached by President Zelensky and President Trump.”

He also thanked Washington for “approving the sale of a Patriot air defense system support package worth approximately $105 million (£80 million)”.

Earlier, a Ukrainian official told the BBC’s US media partner CBS that the trip’s talks would focus on the military situation on the ground and possible ceasefire plans.

“Presidents Zelensky and Trump have agreed to cease the conflict along existing lines of contact and have reached an agreement on providing security guarantees,” the unnamed official said.

Meanwhile, many media reports say the United States and Russia have privately formulated proposals on how to end the war.

Axios, the Financial Times and Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the plan would require Kyiv to give up some territory and weapons and drastically reduce Ukraine’s armed forces.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkov and Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev are believed to have been involved in the development of the 28-point peace plan.

The BBC has asked the White House and Witkoff’s representatives for comment.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to downplay the reports.

“In this case, we have no more innovations in the so-called ‘Anchorage spirit’,” he told Russian state media on Wednesday. Putin-Trump summit in Alaska, USA, in August.

Any agreements reached during the day-long meeting have not been made public.

President Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia.

Kyiv and its Western allies, including the United States, have been calling for an immediate ceasefire on the vast front line, but Moscow has ruled out that possibility and reiterated what Ukraine calls a de facto surrender demand.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow’s preconditions for a peace deal – including the cession of territory, strict limits on the size of Ukraine’s military and the country’s neutrality – had not changed since Putin proposed them two months before a full-scale invasion.

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

He reportedly decided this would be the natural end of his term, which would require Senate approval for more than 360 days.

Kellogg is seen as a key supporter of Ukraine in the White House at a time when Trump has often sided with Russia in the conflict.