CaliToday (27/11/2025): In what is being hailed as the most significant diplomatic maneuver since the conflict began 33 months ago, the Trump administration has made rapid progress on a revised framework to end the war in Ukraine.
On November 25, 2025, U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll led a high-level American delegation to Abu Dhabi for emergency face-to-face talks with Russian officials. The meeting focused on a streamlined 19-point peace plan, a document that marks a sharp departure from previous drafts and signals a potential turning point in negotiations.
The "19-Point" Framework: A Major Shift
According to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Tolbert, a spokesperson for the U.S. delegation, the talks in the UAE are "proceeding well," with Secretary Driscoll coordinating closely with the White House and Vice President JD Vance.
The most critical development lies in the content of the proposal. Following intense preliminary meetings in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine successfully overhauled an earlier 28-point draft which Kyiv had dismissed as "nearly a Russian wish list" into a more balanced 19-point framework.
Key Revisions in the New Plan:
Territorial Concessions Deferred: The demand for Ukraine to immediately cede the entire Donbas region to Russia has been removed. Instead, the final status of disputed territories will be resolved directly between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in future high-level summits.
NATO Stance Softened: The controversial clause requiring Ukraine to permanently renounce its ambition to join NATO a core Russian demand prior to the 2022 invasion—has been eliminated from this phase of the agreement.
"This is no longer a capitulation document; it is a serious roadmap for a ceasefire," an administration insider noted.
War Rages While Diplomats Talk
The diplomatic progress in Abu Dhabi comes against a backdrop of arguably the most violent aerial confrontation of the war. Just as negotiators sat down, Russia launched a massive, punishing assault on the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv Under Fire: A barrage of over 20 missiles and hundreds of attack drones struck Kyiv, killing at least seven people. Social media footage showed a nine-story residential building in the Dniprovskyi district engulfed in flames.
Infrastructure Collapse: The strikes successfully targeted critical infrastructure, leaving large swathes of the capital without electricity, water, or heating as winter sets in. While Moscow claimed to target the "defense industry," Kyiv officials maintain that residential areas bore the brunt of the attack.
Regional Spillover and Retaliation
The violence was not one-sided. Ukraine responded with its fourth-largest drone offensive to date.
Rostov Hit: Ukrainian drones struck targets in Russia's Rostov region, resulting in three fatalities. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted a staggering 249 Ukrainian drones in a single night.
NATO Airspace Violated: In a dangerous escalation, authorities in Romania and Moldova reported Russian drones violating their airspace, raising fears that the conflict could spill over into neighboring nations.
The Path Forward
Despite the bloodshed, the Abu Dhabi talks represent a "real window of opportunity." President Zelensky, while wary that Russia may use the talks to regroup, has acknowledged the shift in the U.S. approach.
With the 19-point plan now on the table, the Trump-Vance administration is moving aggressively to lock in a ceasefire structure, proving that their unconventional diplomatic channels may yield results where traditional methods have stalled.
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Sources: New York Post, Associated Press, Reuters.
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