Trump says Ukraine peace plan ‘fine-tuned’ as envoys prepare talks with Russia and Kyiv

US President Donald Trump has said his proposal to end the war in Ukraine is being “fine-tuned”, confirming that his envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold further discussions with Ukrainian officials.

Trump suggested that he may meet Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a later stage, but only after meaningful progress is achieved.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Tuesday evening, Trump described his initial 28-point proposal as an evolving framework rather than a fully developed plan. “That was not a plan — it was a concept,” he said, acknowledging the complexity of brokering an agreement to end the nearly four-year-long conflict.

The proposal, revealed last week, drew swift concerns in Kyiv and across Europe after it appeared to favour Russia, particularly over territorial concessions. Zelenskyy quickly engaged with US negotiators, while European leaders sought to influence the talks, fearful of both Russian aggression and the perception of being sidelined.

Trump said Witkoff is expected to meet Putin in Moscow next week, with his son-in-law Jared Kushner possibly joining the discussions. “People are starting to realise it's a good deal for both parties,” Trump claimed.

A central feature of Trump’s plan involves Ukraine ceding control of the entire Donbas region, a vast territory of which significant portions remain under Ukrainian control. Independent military analysts estimate Russia would need several years to capture the remainder of the region at its current pace of advances.

Trump downplayed the territorial issue, saying that Russian forces appeared to be progressing steadily. “Eventually that's land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway,” he said.

Trump’s remarks came after Driscoll met Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday. “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic,” said Lt Col Jeff Tolbert, spokesperson for the Army secretary. Witkoff, long involved in back-channel engagement with Putin, has been central to the administration’s diplomatic push, while Driscoll has recently taken on a larger role.

Even as negotiations progressed, Russia launched a heavy overnight barrage on Kyiv, killing at least seven people and damaging residential buildings and energy infrastructure. Ukraine, in turn, carried out a drone strike on southern Russia that killed three people.

Trump also sought to play down a leaked transcript published by Bloomberg News, which showed Witkoff advising a senior Russian official on how Putin should handle an upcoming call with Trump. He described the exchange as “a very standard form of negotiation”. US Republican lawmaker Don Bacon criticised Witkoff, suggesting the transcript implied pro-Russia bias and calling for his removal.

Bloomberg said it reviewed a recording of the call but did not specify how it obtained it. The Associated Press has not independently verified the transcript.

French President Emmanuel Macron said peace efforts had reached a “crucial juncture” after senior US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva over the weekend and European allies held a virtual meeting on Tuesday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said indications from Zelenskyy suggested that “the majority of the text can be accepted”.

However, Oleksandr Bevz, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, cautioned that it was “very premature” to claim any agreement had been reached. He confirmed that some elements of the original 28-point plan had been removed, including provisions unrelated to Ukraine or duplicated points, but said the document remained fluid.

Bevz emphasised that strong and enforceable security guarantees from the US would be central to any lasting deal. Zelenskyy signalled on Monday that a workable framework may be emerging and intends to discuss outstanding issues with Trump soon. Senior adviser Rustem Umerov said Ukraine hoped to finalise a deal at the earliest suitable date in November.

Russia has been restrained in its public comments, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirming only that Moscow was in contact with US officials and awaiting the next iteration of the proposal.

The overnight Russian attack on Kyiv involved 22 missiles and more than 460 drones, Zelenskyy said. The strikes disrupted water, electricity and heating supplies in parts of the capital. A blaze engulfed a nine-storey residential block in the Dniprovskyi district, injuring at least 20 people. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its targets were military-industrial sites and energy assets, describing the attack as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on civilian areas in Russia.

Residents described scenes of devastation. Liubov Petrivna, a 90-year-old woman whose flat was badly damaged, said glass “rained down” around her. She expressed scepticism about the diplomatic process. “No one will ever do anything about it,” she said. “Putin won’t stop until he finishes us off.”

Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Krasnodar region, meanwhile, was described by local officials as one of the “longest and most massive” to date, injuring six people. Russia said it shot down 249 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions and Crimea. Ukraine reported hitting an aviation repair facility, a drone production site, an oil refinery and an oil terminal.

According to an Associated Press tally, it was the fourth-largest Ukrainian drone strike on Russian territory since the war began in February 2022.

With PTI/AP Inputs