U.S. and Ukraine finalizing peace deal but Russia expected to reject changes

Russia is unlikely to accept changes in the new peace plan to end the war that the U.S. and Ukraine are negotiating over, say analysts, even as U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is in the United Arab Emirates meeting with a Russian delegation and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in the United States in the coming days.

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators announced progress over the weekend on modifying the draft of the American-led 28-point peace plan to make it more acceptable to Kyiv, but that will probably doom it for Russia, Russian observers say.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia was waiting to see a new modified version of the contentious plan for Ukraine, but Driscoll was already meeting with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi in an attempt to drive the peace process forward.

The negotiations to come up with a peace plan that would somehow be acceptable to all sides and end nearly four years of war came as dozens of Russian missiles slammed into Kyiv overnight, hitting apartment buildings and power infrastructure.