Trump's team is quietly working a new Ukraine peace plan. Here's what we know - and what to watch.
Families in Ukraine still check their phones before bed. Sirens, outages, the ping of another update. That's the human backdrop to a flurry of quiet, high-stakes conversations that could, if they stick, change the course of this war.
Picture Anchorage in August: bright lights, two presidents eyeing each other at a press conference. It looked tense then. It still is now. But the talks didn't stop when the cameras did.
Behind closed doors: a push for a deal
The Trump administration has been working on a fresh peace plan with Russia, according to a person familiar with the talks. The president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is the point man - and the effort sped up this week after signals from Moscow that a deal might be back on the table, that source said.
Russian officials aren't denying contact. They've confirmed high-level conversations are underway, including with Witkoff. One Russian insider described recent meetings as "very productive."
On the ground in Kyiv
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll (movies and tv series) landed in Ukraine with a Pentagon team on what the Army called a fact-finding mission. The goal: meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior officials, get a read on the battlefield, and talk through what peace talks would actually need to succeed.
He wasn't alone. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George (movies and tv series); Gen. Chris Donahue (movies and tv series), who oversees US Army forces in Europe; and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer traveled with him. The Wall Street Journal first reported the delegation's trip to Kyiv.
There were warm words from Ukrainian officials after the meetings - public gratitude for US support and talk of defense innovations - and a reminder that the agreements Zelensky and Trump discussed will need follow-through. That's the delicate part.
What could be in the deal
A draft framework being discussed runs through 28 points, according to an Axios report. Think security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe, and ground rules for future US relationships with both Kyiv and Moscow.
But the Kremlin is publicly playing it cool. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (movies and tv series) said there are "no new developments to report," beyond the Anchorage talks. That's classic posture management: keep expectations low, keep leverage high.
Europe wants a real seat at the table
Here's the tension: How much are Ukraine and Europe looped in right now? It's not clear. And that uncertainty is setting off alarms in European capitals.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas put it bluntly: for any plan to work, Ukrainians and Europeans need to be on board. Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski (movies and tv series) echoed it - they welcome peace efforts, sure, but Europe's security is at stake. They expect to be consulted.
Where Washington stands
Publicly, the White House isn't saying much. Privately, officials describe a process of collecting ideas from both sides to see what could stick.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio (movies and tv series) hinted at that in a social media post, saying ending a war like this takes "serious and realistic ideas" - and yes, hard concessions from both sides. It's the kind of line you use when you're testing options and gauging pain thresholds.
The recent whiplash
Trump thought he had momentum after a phone call with Vladimir Putin last month and even floated a summit in Budapest. Five days later, the summit was off and new US sanctions were on. That swing tells you a lot.
US officials say Putin's position hasn't shifted much since that Alaska meeting. Earlier proposals to freeze troops along current battle lines? Europe and Ukraine saw it as a start. The Kremlin said they weren't interested in a simple ceasefire; they want a longer-term deal that locks in more.
What this could mean - and what to watch
Here's the honest read. There's movement again. Not dramatic, but real. And it's happening in that gray zone where shaping the first sentence of a deal matters as much as the last.
- Whether Kyiv is fully inside the room - not just briefed after the fact.
- If Moscow shows any concrete shift beyond polite "productive" talk.
- What "security guarantees" actually look like in practice for Ukraine and Europe.
- Signs of another high-level meeting - and whether sanctions tighten or loosen around it.
Look, maybe it's just timing. Maybe it's leverage. But people are tired and costs are piling up - for soldiers at the front and for families trying to keep the lights on. If a real framework is taking shape, we'll see it in who's consulted, what's conceded, and whether the public signals start to align with the private ones.
Until then, watch the small tells: the trips that weren't on schedules, the quiet thank-yous after meetings, the sudden chill in a statement that used to be warm. That's where the truth leaks out first.
