U.S. Military Officials to Meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv

What Happened?

Senior members of the U.S. military, including Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, are set to meet Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. The purpose of the talks is to examine ways of improving Ukraine’s combat operations against Russia and potentially forcing the Russian military to retreat.

The talks come amid leaked details of a drafted peace proposal backed by the Trump administration drawn up in consultation with Russia but without any Ukrainian input. That plan repeats earlier concessions Ukraine has already stated they are unwilling to consider. 

Why it Matters

The visit by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll is one specifically designed to discuss military matters, specifically how Ukraine can develop new strategies and tactics to give them an advantage in their war against Russia. No specifics of the meeting have been made public, but likely topics will include technology sharing, such as intelligence and drone operations. The U.S. has been sharing intelligence with Ukraine since the war began in 2022, giving the Ukrainian military a much-improved capacity to track and target Russian forces.

At the same time, the U.S. delegation will visit Kyiv on Thursday, the Trump Administration indicated they supported a new peace plan that was put together in consultation with Moscow. Predictably, that plan is basically a Russian wish list for ending the war, including such provisions as territorial concessions by Ukraine, the termination of any war crimes investigations against Russia, and limitations on the future size of Ukraine’s armed forces. All those conditions have already been categorically rejected by Ukraine, and it is unlikely they will change their stance.

European leaders also expressed their opposition to the Russian-backed peace plan, and those same heads of state appeared frustrated they were not included in the discussions leading to the formulation of that plan. Direct talks between the Trump Administration and Moscow have been taking place without any consultation of America’s NATO allies.

Russia and Ukraine have continued to strike each other with drones and missiles, while ground troops remain stuck along a front line in the eastern portion of Ukraine that has moved little since the Russian invasion began in 2022. The steady fighting and continued heavy combat in the east of Ukraine indicate neither side is ready to give up the fight and that both have the capacity to continue fighting for the foreseeable future.

How it Affects You

The visit by senior U.S. military officials to Ukraine suggests the war will continue in 2026 and that peace talks are unlikely to bring an end to the war anytime soon. Both Russia and Ukraine are unwilling to make any concessions on the underlying issues that caused the war, and until that changes the fighting will drag on.