US President Donald Trump has sent a high-ranking Pentagon delegation to Kyiv, which is scheduled to hold talks on Wednesday, November 19, as part of the administration's efforts to resume dialogue on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. This is reported by UNN with reference to Wall Street Journal, Politico.
Details
The WSJ, citing two officials, reports that US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, along with two American generals, is to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, as well as representatives of the defense sector and industry. In addition, Driscoll plans to meet with Russian government officials later.
The White House's decision to turn to Driscoll and senior military officers is partly due to the belief that Moscow may be more open to military-mediated negotiations, as well as frustration that numerous previous attempts have yielded no results.
According to Politico, the visit of the American delegation comes amid Russia's intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and Western partners' search for new ways to provide the country with weapons in the midst of the war.
Driscoll is traveling to Ukraine to assess the situation on the ground. He will participate in meetings in Ukraine and report his findings to the White House, a senior administration official said. - The President (US Donald Trump - ed.) has made it clear that it is time to stop the killing and make a deal to end the war.
It is noted that Driscoll's mission is to resume peace talks on behalf of Trump.
The WSJ adds that Driscoll's boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has not visited Kyiv since taking office in January. The decision to send a civilian army leader, whose job is primarily focused on training and equipping soldiers, is an unusual one. But Trump often relies on such envoys, including former Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy.
It is unclear whether Driscoll shared a new negotiation proposal with Zelenskyy from the White House, which had previously called for a freeze on military actions by both sides along the current front lines in eastern Ukraine to accelerate settlement talks.
According to one official, the WSJ writes, the idea of sending Driscoll, Vice President J.D. Vance's classmate from Yale Law School, to Ukraine and then to Russia, came up during a conversation between Trump and Vance.
"The main goal of the visit will be to engage the Ukrainian leadership in a protracted peace process with Russia, despite Moscow's rejection of all previous attempts by the US and Ukraine to end hostilities," Politico reports.
Recall
The administration of US President Donald Trump is secretly developing a new plan with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, November 19, President Zelenskyy will travel to Turkey to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The purpose of the visit is to use growing US pressure on Moscow to resume diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia.