Pentagon officials arrive in Ukraine to discuss military tech, explore peace efforts

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday as part of a delegation of senior Pentagon officials on a fact-finding mission to discuss military technology and explore ways to restart peace talks, according to multiple U.S. officials. 

The delegation includes Driscoll, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa Gen. Chris Donahue, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer. 

The White House picked Driscoll to lead the delegation, according to one U.S. official. It opted to send a delegation from the Pentagon in part because the officials will be able to speak from a military perspective, which may be more effective in getting through to the Russians, the official said. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the visit. 

“Secretary Driscoll and team arrived this morning in Kyiv on behalf of the administration on a factfinding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war,” Army spokesman Colonel David Butler said in a statement on Wednesday. 

During the visit, Driscoll will view Ukrainian technology from the Ukrainian military and defense industry, according to a defense official. 

Driscoll told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” Sunday that Ukraine’s use of drones and AI technology is an “incredible treasure trove of information for future warfare.” He referred to the stunning surprise attack launched in June by Ukraine deep inside Russia — Operation Spider’s Web — which used what Driscoll called a “couple hundred thousand dollars worth of drones” to destroy Russian equipment valued at about $10 billion. During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House last month, he offered drone technology to the U.S.

Over the course of a few days in Ukraine, Driscoll will also spend time with top Ukrainian leaders and is scheduled to meet with Zelenskyy to try to restart negotiations. 

A Ukrainian official told CBS the focus of the visit would be on the military situation on the ground in addition to plans for a possible ceasefire. The official said Driscoll’s visit “is extremely important, as we are stepping into a decisive phase now.” 

“Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump have already agreed to stop the conflict along the existing lines of engagement, and there are agreements on granting security guarantees,” the Ukrainian official added, noting that Ukraine has also spoken with the group of over 30 countries that support it. “Ukraine has also held talks with the “Coalition of the Willing” on the security guarantees.” Ukraine has not agreed to permanently cede that territory to Russia.

“I think a lot of the questions are, how do we actually execute on the president’s agenda of peace in that part of the world,” Driscoll said on “Face the Nation.” “I have not been to the White House, where it has not come up that we just want peace so that the American industrial base can thrive everywhere, and we have to focus on that part of the world unnecessarily right now.”

Negotiations to end the war have largely stalled since the spring, even after President Trump attempted to revive them in the summer and fall during a summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a meeting at the White House with Zelenskyy. 

Since then, the U.S. has resumed intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which has used U.K-provided long-range equipment, as well as drones, to conduct attacks on Russia. 

A defense official also told CBS News that Driscoll intends to meet with Russian officials in the future, but there are no meetings scheduled yet. A Russian official confirmed to CBS News that Russia is open to any talks and negotiations, and reiterated that in August, Putin had invited Mr. Trump to Moscow.

In an interview with Axios conducted Monday, Putin adviser Kirill Dmitriev said that he and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff had written a 28-point peace plan during a face-to-face visit last month in Miami. 

Just days after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russian oil and gas in October, Dmitriev traveled to the U.S. to hold previously scheduled talks with Witkoff in an effort to continue to make progress on a proposal to end the war, as a senior U.S. official described it at the time. 

Dmitriev is under U.S. sanctions himself, and the Treasury Department had to waive them so that he could  travel to the U.S. Asked by Brennan on “Face the Nation” about those meetings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed Dmitriev as a “Russian propagandist.” 

A defense official contacted by CBS News was unable to comment on the 28-point plan described by Dmitriev to Axios, but said that Driscoll intends to open the door to discussing a peace plan. A Russian Embassy official contacted by CBS declined comment on the reported 28-point plan. Dmitriev’s spokesperson did not respond in time for publication.

On Tuesday, at a news conference in Spain, Zelenskyy said he intended to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss “a just peace for Ukraine.” A State Department official denied reports that Witkoff would be traveling to Türkiye for diplomatic meetings with Ukraine. 

Witkoff had not responded to requests for comment at time of publication.