U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is engaged in direct talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, a significant step in the Trump administration's intensified push to broker a peace deal to end the conflict in Ukraine. These discussions, described as ongoing and constructive, come as a revised American peace proposal gains momentum.
The Trump administration is mounting a fresh diplomatic offensive to end the war. President Donald Trump has tasked Army Secretary Dan Driscoll with leading this new phase of negotiations. A spokesperson for Driscoll confirmed that "late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine," adding that "the talks are going well and we remain optimistic".
This diplomatic effort follows a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which laid the groundwork for current negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has acknowledged the renewed engagement, stating, "the pause has been broken by the introduction of this document," while also noting that some issues "require clarification".
The U.S. peace proposal has been significantly revised following consultations with Ukrainian and European officials in Geneva. The original 28-point plan, which was widely viewed as reflecting key Russian demands, has been pared down to a 19-point framework. The requirement for Ukraine to immediately cede the entire Donbas region has been removed. This highly contentious issue is now slated for future discussions between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy. The demand for Ukraine to permanently renounce its ambition to join NATO has also been eliminated from the current draft, and the proposed limits on the size of Ukraine's armed forces have been taken out of the revised plan. A Ukrainian official involved in the talks noted that "very few things are left from the original version," characterizing the new draft as containing "a solid body of convergence".
The revised proposal has received cautious but growing international support. The White House stated that "over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal," while acknowledging that "a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details" remain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated that the "sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump". He is planning a visit to the United States to finalize a deal. European leaders have also responded positively, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer noting that Zelenskyy is indicating he could accept the "majority" of the text and French President Emmanuel Macron stating that negotiations are at a "crucial juncture".
The diplomatic push continues against a backdrop of ongoing violence. As peace talks were underway, Russia launched a large-scale wave of attacks on Ukraine, firing dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones overnight. The strikes targeted energy infrastructure and knocked out water, electricity, and heat in parts of the capital.
In a related development that heightened regional tensions, NATO member Romania scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday to track two Russian drones that crossed into its airspace from Ukraine. One of the drones traveled about 70 miles into Romanian territory before crashing. Moldova also reported six drone incursions into its airspace.