US President Donald Trump said his plan to end the war in Ukraine has now been "fine-tuned," and announced that he is sending two envoys for separate talks with Moscow and Kyiv. According to Trump, Steve Witkoff will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian officials.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump said, "Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the War between Russia and Ukraine (A War that would have NEVER started if I were President!). Last month, 25,000 soldiers died. The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement. In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians."
Trump could meet Putin and Zelenskyy
Trump also indicated that he may personally meet Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a later stage, but only after "further progress" is made in the negotiation process.
"I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles," Trump added in the social media posting.
"I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"
Trump's plan for ending the nearly four-year war emerged last week. It heavily favoured Russia, prompting Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators. European leaders, fearing for their own future facing Russian aggression but apparently sidelined by Trump in drawing up the proposals, scrambled to steer the negotiations toward accommodating their concerns.
Large Ukrainian drone attack
Tensions flared on the ground even as diplomatic efforts unfolded. While talks were underway, Russia launched overnight air strikes on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing at least seven people and hitting residential buildings and energy infrastructure.
In retaliation, Ukrainian forces carried out a drone attack on Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. Local authorities described it as "one of the longest and most massive" drone strikes, which claimed three lives and damaged several homes. Six people were reported wounded in the attack, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
In response, the Russian Defence Ministry said their air defences shot down 249 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple Russian regions and the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
Long road to peace
Zelenskyy said late Monday that "the list of necessary steps to end the war can become workable." He said he planned to discuss "sensitive" outstanding issues with Trump.
Rustem Umerov, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy, posted on X on Tuesday that Zelenskyy hoped to finalise a deal with Trump "at the earliest suitable date in November."
Russian officials have been reserved in their comments on the peace plan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow is in touch with US officials about peace efforts.
"We expect them to provide us with a version they consider an interim one in terms of completing the phase of coordinating this text with the Europeans and the Ukrainians," Lavrov said.
European leaders have cautioned that the road to peace will be long.
Also Read: Zelenskyy optimistic as US-backed 28-point Ukraine peace plan revised to 19 points
Also Read: Russia, Ukraine close to finalising peace deal? Trump says 'something good just may be happening'
