Envoys push a US plan for ending Russia's war in Ukraine

Audio By Carbonatix

The U.S.-led push to end Russia’s nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine gained momentum late last year and is moving ahead in 2026, with leaders, diplomats and envoys engaged in a flurry of meetings to discuss a potential deal.

Some key moments:

Nov. 19: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travels to Turkey in what he said was an effort to jump-start negotiations on ending the war. Reports emerge soon after of a 28-point peace plan drafted by the U.S. and Russia that critics say leans heavily in Moscow’s favor.

Nov. 20: U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll travels to the Ukrainian capital to brief Zelenskyy on the U.S.-backed peace proposal.

Nov. 23: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets a Ukrainian delegation headed by then-presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak for talks in Geneva. Both sides report progress but provide few details.

Nov. 24-25: Driscoll meets Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, says the parties do not discuss the new peace plan in detail.

Nov. 30: A Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov meets U.S. officials in Florida. He replaced Yermak, who resigned amid a corruption scandal involving Ukraine’s energy sector.

Dec. 1: Zelenskyy travels to Paris to brief French President Emmanuel Macron on the outcome of the Florida talks, as a U.S. delegation heads to Moscow for talks there.

Dec. 2: Putin meets Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin for five hours. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Ushakov also were present. Ushakov describes the meeting as constructive, but says much work remains.

Dec. 2: Zelenskyy meets in Ireland with the Ukrainian delegation returning from Florida. He says Ukraine is waiting for signals from the U.S. delegation after its Moscow meeting.

Dec. 4-6: A Ukrainian delegation returns to Florida to meet U.S. delegates.

Dec. 14-15: Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy, travel to Berlin for talks with Witkoff and Kushner. U.S. officials say afterward that Washington has agreed to provide Kyiv with unspecified security guarantees.

Dec. 20-21: Russian envoy Dmitriev holds several days of talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Miami. Separately, the Americans also meet with a Ukrainian delegation that also is in Florida.

Dec. 28: Zelenskyy flies to Florida to meet Trump, who calls Putin before sitting down with the Ukrainian president.

Jan. 6-7: Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials attend a summit of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris and hold talks with Witkoff and Kushner. Kyiv's allies tout major progress toward agreeing on how to defend Ukraine if a peace deal is struck, saying they were ready to provide international guarantees to deter Russia from attacking again.

Jan. 17: A Ukrainian delegation arrives in the U.S. for talks as Russia again attacks Ukraine’s power grid, cutting electricity and heat in freezing temperatures.

Jan. 20: Russian envoy Dmitriev meets with Witkoff and Kushner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. No details about what was discussed are revealed.

Jan. 21: Umerov says the Ukrainian delegation in Davos met with Witkoff and Kushner there.

Jan. 22: Zelenskyy meets Trump in Davos for about an hour. Trump describes the talks as “very good,” while Zelenskyy calls them “productive and meaningful.”

Jan. 22-23: Putin hosts Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow for nearly four hours. Ushakov reaffirms that "that reaching a long-term settlement can’t be expected without solving the territorial issue,” but says more talks will be held the next day in the United Arab Emirates.

Jan. 23: Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. delegates hold talks in Abu Dhabi, the first known instance that officials from the Trump administration have sat down with both countries to try to halt the war. Zelenskyy says the fraught issue of territorial concessions is likely be discussed, while the Kremlin calls the meeting a “working group on security issues.”

Jan. 31: Kremlin envoy Dmitriev visits Miami ahead of more talks in Abu Dhabi.

Feb. 4: Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators start the first of two days of talks in Abu Dhabi.