US Army secretary warns Ukraine of impending defeat
US Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscolll (photo: Getty Images)
US Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll warned Ukrainian officials in Kyiv that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing a difficult situation on the battlefield and are headed toward inevitable defeat by Russian forces, NBC News reports.
According to the sources, during his visit to Kyiv last week, Driscoll told his Ukrainian counterparts that the Russians are increasing the scale and pace of their air attacks.
He warned that Russia is capable of conducting military operations indefinitely. As the minister stated, the situation in Ukraine will only worsen over time, so it is better to reach a peace settlement now than to find themselves in an even weaker position later.
In addition, the US delegation said that the American defense industry will not be able to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons and air defense systems in the volumes necessary to protect the country's infrastructure and population.
According to two sources, Driscoll's warning followed his presentation of the US-backed peace plan, which officials in Kyiv viewed as a capitulation to Moscow.
"The message was basically — you are losing," one of the sources said.
Differences within Trump's team
Driscoll's meeting with the Ukrainian side was part of efforts by some officials in the Trump administration to pressure Ukraine into immediately accepting a new peace proposal, even though the document included Russia's maximalist demands and required painful concessions from the Ukrainian government.
Several current and former Western officials told the outlet this information.
At the same time, NBC notes that Ukraine politely declined to sign the peace plan in its current form, and the proposal has been significantly revised since the talks with Driscoll.
According to NBC, this meeting became yet another example of a longstanding division within Trump's team over how to end the war in Ukraine.
The split is tied to an emerging political rivalry between two former senators and potential 2028 presidential candidates — US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to several current and former officials, one camp, which includes Vance, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, and other officials, considers Ukraine the main obstacle to peace and advocates using US leverage to force Kyiv into serious concessions.
The other camp, represented by Rubio and other officials, views Russia as responsible for starting the invasion and argues that Moscow will retreat only if it is forced to pay for its aggression through sanctions and other forms of pressure.
Trump himself — while his deputies, Republican lawmakers, and European leaders compete for his attention — remains undecided about how to resolve the conflict.
US peace plan
About a week ago, Western media reported that the United States had developed a new peace plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
It was soon presented to Kyiv and, as is known, consisted of 28 points. However, the points were quite painful for Ukraine, which is why, on November 23, a meeting among US, Ukrainian, and European delegations took place in Geneva to revise the document and make it more acceptable to Kyiv.
According to the Financial Times, the document was shortened from 28 to 19 points, although Trump hinted a few hours ago that the document had been reduced to 22 points.
In a joint statement following the Geneva talks, the United States and Ukraine said they had developed a framework document, and its final version will be approved at a meeting between the two countries' leaders.
Yesterday, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to meet as soon as possible, and such a meeting could take place as early as November 27.
