Ukraine’s Zelensky will meet Pentagon officials as reports emerge of a US-Russia peace plan requiring Kyiv to cede territory and reduce its army
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with top Pentagon officials in Kyiv on Thursday.
The meeting follows reports of a US plan to end the war with Moscow on terms favourable to the Kremlin.
A Pentagon delegation headed by US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Zelensky’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn confirmed the Ukrainian leader plans to meet the officials.
The delegation met Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmygal on Wednesday evening.
US officials have rarely visited Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
The meeting comes a day after Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff skipped a meeting with Zelensky in Turkey.
This represents a blow to Kyiv’s hopes to reinvigorate diplomacy with Washington.
It also follows a Russian strike that killed at least 26 people in one of Moscow’s deadliest attacks this year.
US media reports indicate Washington and Moscow have been secretly working on a plan to end the almost four-year war.
A Ukrainian source familiar with draft proposals told AFP the plan would require Kyiv to cede land.
The proposal would also require Ukraine to cut its army size by more than half.
The Ukrainian source described these terms as amounting to capitulation.
The Kremlin said it had nothing to say about the reports.
Washington and Kyiv have not publicly commented on the proposals. – AFP
