US holding secret Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Abu Dhabi, FT reports
Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll traveled to Abu Dhabi on Nov. 24 for negotiations with Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, and a Russian delegation, the Financial Times (FT) reported.
Driscoll and the Russian team began talks the night of Nov. 24, the FT reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The names of the Russian delegates were not specified.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports at the time of publication.
The alleged talks follow negotiations among U.S., Ukrainian, and European representatives in Geneva, Switzerland regarding the latest peace plan backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The plan, developed behind closed doors by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, sparked backlash in Ukraine and Europe over provisions seen to skew heavily towards Moscow. The plan demanded sweeping territorial concessions, a constitutional commitment that Ukraine would never join NATO, and signifant reductions to Ukraine's army.
In his nightly address on Nov. 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the plan had been scaled back from its original 28 points following the Geneva talks, and that the revised version is more aligned with Ukraine's needs.
Zelensky said more work was needed to finalize the agreement and described the process as "very difficult."
