Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet top Pentagon officials in Kyiv on Thursday, his office confirmed, as reports surface of a US-backed plan that could end the war with Moscow on terms favourable to the Kremlin.
The visit comes a day after former US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, skipped a scheduled meeting with Zelensky in Turkey, dealing a blow to Kyiv’s efforts to reinvigorate diplomacy and secure renewed Washington pressure on Russia to halt its invasion.
The Pentagon delegation, led by US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko met with Driscoll on Thursday, describing the visit as 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 confirmed that the Ukrainian president plans to meet the delegation.
The group also met Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday evening.
US officials have rarely visited Ukraine since Trump returned to office in January. Meanwhile, US media report that Washington and Moscow have been quietly working on a draft plan to end the nearly four-year conflict triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion.
According to a source familiar with the proposals, the plan could require Kyiv to cede territory and reduce its army by more than half—effectively amounting to capitulation.
The Kremlin has declined to comment, while Washington and Kyiv have not publicly addressed the reports.
The meeting follows a deadly Russian strike that killed at least 26 people on Wednesday, marking one of Moscow’s deadliest attacks in Ukraine this year.
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