Senior US Army officials make rare wartime visit to Kyiv amid push to revive peace talks

Two senior US Army officials have made an unannounced visit to Kyiv in a rare high-level trip by the Trump administration during wartime, as Washington explores fresh attempts to revive stalled peace negotiations with Russia, Politico reported on Wednesday, 19 November.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff General Randy George are expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, senior Ukrainian commanders and members of parliament, according to people familiar with the planning. The Wall Street Journal reported separately that Mr. Driscoll is also likely to hold talks with Russian officials at a later stage.

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon commented on the visit.

The trip comes as the Trump administration quietly drafts a new roadmap to end the conflict in Ukraine, consulting with Moscow as part of the process, Axios reported earlier this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials hope that Russian leaders may be more responsive to military intermediaries after previous diplomatic efforts yielded limited progress.

The visit takes place against the backdrop of intensified Russian assaults. Moscow’s forces have been inching forward along parts of the frontline while escalating missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and critical energy facilities. Western governments, meanwhile, are searching for ways to sustain the flow of weapons and ammunition to Kyiv.

In Poland, the country’s armed forces said allied aircraft were scrambled early on Wednesday to safeguard its airspace after Russia conducted strikes close to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

Since Donald Trump assumed office in January, senior US officials have seldom travelled to Kyiv, with most engagements held via video link or in third countries. The appearance of Driscoll and Gen. George in the Ukrainian capital therefore marks an unusual departure from the administration’s typical approach.

Trump and Zelenskyy, however, have met several times this year, including at the Vatican, at a NATO summit in June and at an August meeting in Washington focused on potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he planned to travel to Turkey to explore ways to restart negotiations with Russia, as the war enters its fourth year.

Discussions led by the US Army officials in Kyiv are expected to address Ukraine’s immediate military requirements as well as broader strategic issues, including efforts to revive dialogue with Moscow, Politico reported.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring the conflict to a swift conclusion and has asked advisers to examine ceasefire scenarios with Kyiv and Moscow, a move that has raised concern in parts of Europe over the possibility of any settlement cementing Russia’s control over occupied territories.

With IANS Inputs