The pace of negotiations to end the Ukraine War is accelerating as a U.S. official told CBS News on Tuesday that Ukraine's government had "agreed to a peace deal."
"The American official and Ukraine's national security adviser Rustem Umerov said a common understanding on a proposal had been reached, with details still to be worked out," reported CBS. The official added that only "minor details" needed to be worked out.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may come to Washington as early as this weekend to finalize those details. Zelesnky wants to negotiate with Trump directly on the territorial concessions he will have to make to stop the Russians from fighting.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, according to the network. "Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. "There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States."
The agreement will have been substantially altered from the original 28-point peace plan that was leaked to the press last week. Zelensky said Monday that the new proposal now contains “fewer points than 28, and many proper considerations have been taken into account in this framework.”
“Ukraine has the framework developed by our teams in Geneva. That framework is on the table, and we’re ready to move forward together – with the United States of America, with personal engagement of President Trump, and with Europe,” he added.
The presence of any European nations in anything but an observer capacity is doubtful. This is Donald Trump's show, and he certainly doesn't need any assistance in finalizing a deal he and his people have been negotiating.
The Kremlin has not said much about the US plan, but Putin has said the US proposal “in principle, could form the basis for a final peace settlement.” He added that the version of the plan seen by Russia is “in line with the discussions” at the US-Russia summit in Alaska earlier this year, but it’s not clear whether that version held up following days of meetings between the US and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia continued its assault on Ukraine, launching 22 missiles and 460 drones into Ukraine overnight, killing six people and wounding 13, according to Zelensky.
The strikes caused “extensive damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure” in Kyiv and targeted “the energy sector and everything that keeps normal life going,” Zelensky said.
"I hope the visit of President Zelensky will take place as soon as possible, because ... it will be help President Trump to continue his historical mission to end this war," Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told Axios.
What got Zelensky to agree to a deal was Trump's change of heart on a U.S. "security agreement" with Ukraine that would require the United States to send military forces to Kyiv in the event of a "sustained attack" by Russia. That codicile will prove to be very controversial among MAGA supporters who would likely question any promise of U.S. military support to Ukraine.
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