TRANSCRIPT
United States President Donald Trump says his administration has made tremendous progress on what was originally a 28-point peace plan - now cut down to 19 after negotiations in Geneva.
On Truth Social, he announced a two-track diplomatic push next week.
“In the hopes of finalising 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.”
The US President says the sides are very close, although Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists major questions remain.
While Washington speaks of momentum, Kyiv’s residents are tired, but far from ready to accept unfavourable terms that include giving away large swathes of land to Russia.
Kyiv resident, Olha Barashykova, says exhaustion doesn’t translate into surrender.
“Kyiv residents, it seems to me, are all very tired, but if we talk about the mood, this fatigue does not mean that we can give up or, I don't know, decide to immediately make some concessions.”
Others like Leonid Serednytskyi say sanctions must be linked to Russia stopping the war.
“If the Russians withdrew their troops and stopped bombing, recognised sovereignty, I would be in favour of lifting the sanctions against them.”
Younger Ukrainians, like Vladyslav Kovalenko, are sceptical, but say they can see at least some positives in the revised plan.
He says that even a painful compromise might bring back some territory.
“I saw that Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions would be given to us under that agreement although that means they are taking Donetsk, Luhansk regions, and Crimea. At least there’s something positive.”
As Kyiv debates its options, Moscow is signalling its own cautious optimism.
During a bilateral meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Russia's Vladimir Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that the United States recognises the challenges of reaching a settlement.
He says Russia seeks “acceptable” results through peaceful means.
"I’ll be happy to inform you about the direction of achieving acceptable and sought after results for us in Ukraine by peaceful means. I know you are keeping track of it and you are always concerned about it. You are one of the people who strives for this conflict to be over.”
Mr Lukashenko says the Americans need to tread carefully, calling for a delicate handling of the negotiations.
“I hope that everything will be alright taking into account the recent events. I’ll say publicly now what I told the Americans before: if they are delicate and understand that this is a complex matter that requires complex decisions.”
But even as diplomacy broadens, fresh scrutiny has emerged over how much coordination exists between U-S and Russian officials behind the scenes.
A Bloomberg report says envoy Steve Witkoff coached Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov on how President Putin should approach President Trump when discussing the peace plan.
Reuters has also cited three anonymous sources in its report that the United States brokered plan to end the war in Ukraine was drawn from Russian-authored papers submitted to the Trump administration in October this year.
Mr Ushakov didn’t dispute the recording when asked by Russian state media.
Mr Trump is standing by the plan - and has dismissed any suggestion of impropriety, stating this is part of negotiating.
''That was just a map. All that was a map, that was not a plan, it was a concept. And from there they're taking, each one of the 28 points, and then you get down to 22 points, a lot of them were solved. And actually very favourably so. We'll see what happens."
While talks continue, fighting on the ground remains intense, particularly in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s special forces released new helmet-camera footage from northern Pokrovsk, verified by Reuters.
The video shows troops sprinting through damaged streets and taking cover during clashes with Russian forces.
Ukrainian commanders say they lack the manpower to stop constant incursions, while Russia claims to have captured two districts this week, claims that have been unverified.
