U.S. and Russia Press Plan Requiring Ukrainian Concessions as Pentagon Team Visits Kyiv

Overview

• Reuters sources say Washington signaled to Volodymyr Zelensky that a settlement should include ceding territory, handing over some weapons and reducing Ukraine’s armed forces.
• Zelensky has stated he will not surrender any territory, even as he explores ways to restart talks.
• A Pentagon-led delegation headed by U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Kyiv to discuss options to end the war, according to the U.S. Embassy.
• Axios reports the Trump administration is quietly drafting a roughly 28‑point peace outline with Moscow, and Reuters sources say Ukraine was not involved in shaping the terms.
• Russia launched one of its heaviest strikes of the war, killing at least 25 people and pressing advances near Pokrovsk and in the Zaporizhzhia region, with significant damage reported in Ternopil.