A girl reacts after her mother was killed during a Russia drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine November 23, 2025. © REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi
(Kyiv) — The long, painful, bloody slog may soon be over in Eastern Europe — reports say that Ukraine has agreed to a peace deal amid the brutal war with Russia. It’s a 28-point peace plan — which leaked to news outlet Axios this weekend — although there are some potential snags. In fact, the New York Post has reported Russia may not be willing to accept the terms at this point.
Earlier Tuesday, Fox News quoted a US official who said Ukraine had agreed to a peace deal that would lead to the end of the war with Russia, which began in February 2022. The conservative news outlet quotes Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert, a spokesman for US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who says: “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress.”
Driscoll and his team met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the framework. Many have said the terms are favorable to Russia, but others note the grim reality that Ukraine faces even more loss of territory if the war continues. This latest plan is also somehow different than the plan leaked over the weekend — which some said would leave Ukraine “at mercy” of Russia for decades to come. Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, says this plan comes amid meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Ukrainian and European officials. He calls it a “better” plan.
Meanwhile, the bloodshed continued over the past 24-hours, as the agreement follows an overnight attack on Kyiv, in which Russian airstrikes or drones killed at least six people and left 13 hurt. Residential buildings and infrastructure were hit.
The weekend saw meetings in Geneva between US and Ukrainian officials in a desperate bid to end the nearly four-year-long war. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, cited the talks in Geneva in addressing his country’s agreement to major parts of a peace plan.
Writing on X, he said: “We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war. Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva. We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps.”
Umerov added that his country looks forward to Zelenskyy visiting the US “at the earliest suitable date” in order “to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump.”
