U.S. army secretary meets with Ukrainian president as Russian forces capture key city

U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was "very optimistic" after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev on Thursday to discuss a new U.S. peace plan, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said at a briefing that U.S. President Donald Trump supports the emerging plan.

"It's a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides. And we're working very hard to get it done," she said.

She added that U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and State Secretary Marco Rubio have spent the past month quietly drafting the framework and "engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace."

Zelenskyy's office said in a statement Thursday that the Ukrainian president would speak with Trump in the coming days to discuss "diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," according to reports.

U.S. media reports say the current draft plan contains 28 points, including major territorial concessions by Ukraine and sharp reductions in its armed forces, as well as limits on access to long-range weapon types. The plan may also rule out the deployment of European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after a ceasefire.

The disclosures have drawn sharp reactions in Europe, where officials fear being sidelined in the negotiating process and view aspects of the draft as favoring Russia.

It was reported that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stressed Thursday that any viable peace plan requires the support of Ukraine and Europe.

Russia-Ukraine talks have stalled since the Trump-Putin meeting in August in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have taken control of the strategic city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said Thursday.

Units of the Zapad (West) group have seized the city of Kupyansk and are continuing to destroy Ukrainian forces encircled on the left bank of the Oskol River, Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gerasimov said that advances are underway in Krasnoarmeysk, another strategic city in eastern Ukraine, adding that over 75 percent of the city's territory is now under Russian control.

Russian troops have taken 13 villages since the beginning of November – six in the Dnipropetrovsk region and seven in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said.

Kupyansk is a key logistics hub and defense stronghold for Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region. Russia previously controlled the city from February to September 2022, during which time it served as the region's administrative center.

(With input from Xinhua)