U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held closed-door talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday night and throughout Tuesday, marking the most aggressive diplomatic push yet under President Donald Trump to secure a settlement to the war in Ukraine, according to his spokesperson.
The meetings come as Washington works to close gaps with Kyiv over a new U.S. peace proposal, while Ukrainian leaders resist terms they fear could lock in major concessions to Moscow.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Tolbert said Driscoll and his team spent both days in discussions “to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine,” adding that the secretary remains in step with the White House as the talks continue. The identity of the Russian delegation was not immediately disclosed.
A U.S. official said Driscoll, described as a central figure in the administration’s Ukraine diplomacy, was also expected to meet Ukrainian officials during the visit.
The talks began hours after Russia launched a large-scale strike on Kyiv, firing missiles and several hundred drones. At least six people were reported dead. Power and heating systems were damaged again, forcing residents to shelter in underground stations, many wrapped in coats or sitting in makeshift tents.
The latest American proposal, a 28-point framework circulated last week, has stirred unease in Kyiv and across Europe. It surfaced shortly after Trump’s surprise Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin in August, a meeting that initially set off fears that Washington might concede significant ground to the Kremlin.
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The document would require Ukraine to surrender additional territory, accept limits on its military capabilities, and permanently abandon its bid to join NATO. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly rejected those conditions in past negotiations.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, weakened by a corruption scandal that removed two ministers and facing fresh Russian gains on the battlefield, said some elements of the proposal were “correct” following weekend discussions in Geneva.
“The sensitive issues, the most delicate points, I will discuss with President Trump,” he said in his nightly address. He added that shaping a final agreement “would be difficult.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any amended peace plan must reflect “the spirit and letter” of what Putin and Trump discussed at their Alaska summit, signalling Moscow’s unwillingness to move far from its long-held demands.
European leaders took a cautious stance. A virtual meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, which includes France and Britain, was scheduled for Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron told RTL radio that while the U.S. initiative moves in the direction of a ceasefire, several elements “deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved.”
“We want peace, but we don’t want a peace that would be a capitulation,” he said. Only Ukrainians, he added, could decide what territorial compromises they are prepared to accept.
“What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable for the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” Macron said.