"President Trump had set a deadline of Thursday for Ukraine to accept a deal to give up territory to Russia, including territory that Russia has not captured on the battlefield in almost four years of war. But now that deadline seems to be shifting and the terms of the deal changing. The White House says there's been, quote, 'tremendous progress' in talks this week, but more negotiations are needed."
"President Trump has said that he tends to extend deadlines if things are working out. And in this case, he says his team has been making progress. He's sending his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. And his army secretary, Dan Driscoll, who's a longtime friend of Vice President JD Vance, is also kind of playing an unusual diplomatic role here, too. Driscoll has been in Abu Dhabi, shuttling between Russian and Ukrainian delegations."
"OK, it's been a little bit confusing because we have seen so many different views from this White House on Ukraine. Like, Trump berated Ukraine's president earlier this year - right? - telling him he didn't hold any cards. And then a couple months ago, he said that he thought Ukraine could win back all of its territory. So I'm just wondering, like, how are people in Ukraine processing all of these mixed signals?"
An initial peace proposal was revised to address European and Ukrainian objections, producing what the White House calls progress while terms continue to change. A Thursday deadline set by President Trump for Ukraine to accept territorial concessions has slipped as negotiations continue. Trump is dispatching envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow while Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has been shuttling in Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Ukrainian officials say President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could visit the U.S. to finalize a deal. Conflicting statements from Washington have created uncertainty in Kyiv about U.S. intentions.
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