By Camilla Schick and Nancy Cordes
A U.S. official told CBS News that Ukraine’s government has “agreed to a peace deal” brokered by the Trump administration to end Russia’s nearly four-year assault, with only “minor details” left to settle. Ukraine’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, said negotiators had reached a common understanding on the core terms of a proposal, though specifics remain to be worked out.
Umerov expressed optimism that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could travel to the U.S. before the end of November to finalize the agreement. CBS News earlier reported discussions about a potential U.S. visit by Zelenskyy this week.
The developments unfolded as U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi meeting with Russian officials, sources told CBS News. President Trump posted on Truth Social that only a few points of disagreement remained. He said he had directed envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and that Driscoll would meet with Ukrainians. Trump said he and senior aides — including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — would be briefed on progress and that he hoped to meet Zelenskyy and Putin once the deal was final or near-final.
Asked aboard Air Force One about progress, Trump said “we’re making progress” and described remaining disagreements as “standard things” that negotiators were resolving. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media a preliminary agreement had been reached for Witkoff to travel to Moscow next week along with other Trump administration officials.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had made “tremendous progress” toward a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table, while noting a few delicate but surmountable details remained and would require further talks among Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
There was no immediate reaction from Russia to what officials said had been agreed in Abu Dhabi, and neither U.S. nor Ukrainian officials disclosed the proposal’s details. Umerov said Ukraine had accepted the “core terms” of a peace proposal discussed in Abu Dhabi, where U.S., Ukrainian and Russian representatives were meeting — though not all parties met together at the same time.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow appreciated the U.S. initiative and was waiting to receive an updated version of the peace plan from American counterparts. Lavrov emphasized that Russia prefers formal agreements before public disclosures and expected the updated proposal would reflect key understandings reached between Trump and Putin during their August meeting in Alaska (Anchorage). He warned that if the “spirit and letter” of Anchorage understandings were not preserved, the situation would be different in principle.
Umerov posted that Ukraine’s negotiators had “reached a common understanding on the core terms” discussed among U.S., European and Ukrainian officials in Geneva over the weekend. He said Ukraine now counts on the support of European partners and expects to organize a visit by Zelenskyy to the U.S. at the earliest suitable date in November to finalize the deal with President Trump.
A Trump administration official said there was no firm agreement for Zelenskyy to come to the U.S. as of late Tuesday morning, but if a meeting occurs it could be at Mar-a-Lago. A U.S. military official in Abu Dhabi said Driscoll spent hours negotiating with Russian representatives, moving in and out of sessions throughout the day, and described officials as “very optimistic” about getting feedback from Russia soon.
Sources said Driscoll was working from a revised version of the White House’s 28-point proposal following productive negotiations in Geneva. Over the weekend, Driscoll, Rubio, Witkoff, Jared Kushner and diplomats from Ukraine and European allies attended talks in Geneva. Driscoll’s meetings in Abu Dhabi followed a visit to Kyiv the previous week.
CBS News previously obtained a draft of a Trump administration-backed 28-point proposal that included provisions Zelenskyy has rejected before — such as requiring Ukraine to cede the entire Donetsk region, including parts not occupied by Russia, and abandoning its bid to join NATO. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say there is an accompanying document on security guarantees; Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Olga Stefanishyna, told “Face the Nation” that the U.S. intends to offer security assurances akin to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, pledging collective defense-like commitments without full NATO membership.
A group of NATO members and other U.S. allies released a joint statement calling the proposed peace plan “a basis which will require additional work.” The White House said U.S. and Ukrainian officials had “drafted an updated and refined peace framework” after the Geneva discussions. Rubio described sessions in Geneva as “very meaningful” but acknowledged more work remained.
Trump had pressed Zelenskyy to reach a deal by Thanksgiving, though Rubio indicated that timeline remained flexible. A U.S. official told CBS News that Russian President Putin appears to believe he will secure the Donetsk region either through negotiation or on the battlefield. The administration’s Geneva negotiations started from the premise that Putin might eventually control Donetsk. While U.S. officials stopped short of saying Ukraine is losing the war overall, they noted the trajectory of fighting suggested Russia was likely to take Donetsk. They pointed to Russian advances in the eastern frontline city of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub for Ukraine, as an unfavorable sign for Kyiv’s defenses.
Kathryn Watson and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.