Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet senior Pentagon officials in Kyiv on Thursday, his office confirmed, as new details emerge about a reported US plan to end the war on terms favorable to Moscow.
The visit comes one day after US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, skipped a scheduled meeting with the Ukrainian president in Turkey.
A US delegation led by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday and met Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal in the evening.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko met Driscoll on Thursday, calling the visit an opportunity for US officials “to assess the situation on the ground and witness firsthand the consequences of Russian aggression.”
Zelensky’s aide, Dmytro Lytvyn, said the president intends to meet the delegation.
As previously reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Driscoll – accompanied by two four-star generals – is expected to hold talks with Zelensky, other senior Ukrainian officials, and representatives of Ukraine’s defense industry.
He also plans to meet Russian officials at a later stage.
As per the WSJ, the White House chose to involve Driscoll and top military leaders partly because it believes Moscow may be more open to military-brokered talks, and out of frustration that previous diplomatic efforts have yielded little.
A senior Trump administration official said Driscoll is traveling to Ukraine to get “a feel for the facts on the ground” before reporting back to the White House. Another official said his mission is to revive peace talks on Trump’s behalf.
Senior US officials have rarely visited Ukraine since President Trump returned to office in January.
Meanwhile, US media have reported that Washington and Moscow are secretly working on a plan to end the nearly four-year full-scale war triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The plan reportedly would require Kyiv to cede territory and slash the size of its army by more than half – terms amounting to capitulation.
The Kremlin said it had “nothing to say” about the reports. Washington and Kyiv have not publicly commented on the alleged proposal.
A US-proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine reportedly includes a scheme for Russia to gain control of eastern Donbas in exchange for paying Ukraine a “rental fee,” The Telegraph reported Thursday, citing its sources. Kyiv would retain legal ownership of the territory.
The plan – said to be drafted by US and Russian envoys Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev – would also require Ukraine to clear remaining non-occupied areas of Donbas and turn them into a demilitarized zone, Axios reported.
In exchange, Moscow could make concessions in parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
According to the Financial Times, the proposal also envisions Ukraine scaling back its armed forces, halting some Western weapons deliveries, and pledging not to host foreign troops.
The “land lease” approach echoes Donald Trump’s business-style dealmaking, with Russia paying to offset Ukraine’s losses in the mineral-rich region.
Ukraine was not involved in drafting the plan and was only briefed on its broad outlines, NBC reported.
Allies in Europe also said they were not informed. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Brussels would not accept any initiative negotiated without Kyiv.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic distanced themselves from the reported proposal. A senior US official told Kyiv Post the document resembled a “maximalist Kremlin fantasy.”
Western diplomats dismissed the reports as another Russian attempt to create pressure for a deal Kyiv would reject.