Russia Claims Leaked Call With US Intended To Disrupt Peace Deal

Russia claimed that a leaked phone call between Kremlin and senior U.S. officials as intended to disrupt peace talks to end its war with Ukraine, claiming it was premature to say the deal had already been reached, on Wednesday (November 26) via NBC News.

Yuri Ushakov, who serves as foreign policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin, suggested that his conversation with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's envoy, being leaked was done in an effort to interfere with the negotiations.

“It is unlikely that this is done to improve relations,” he said via NBC News.

Witkoff advised Ushakov on how to best appeal to Trump in regards to the peace plan, suggesting that a call with Putin be set up prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's scheduled visit to the White House, according to a transcript of the October 14 call published by Bloomberg, which said it reviewed a recording off the call but didn't specify how it gained access to it.

Witkoff, who claims to speak to Ushakov regularly, is scheduled to visit Moscow next week. On Tuesday (November 25), President Trump said "we're getting very close to a deal" to end the Russia-Ukraine war following reports that Ukraine's government had "agreed to a peace deal" earlier in the day.

"I think we're making progress," Trump said while pardoning two turkeys during the annual presidential Thanksgiving tradition at the White House via CBS News.

Trump's update came hours after a U.S. official said Ukraine had agreed to a proposal to end the war with Russia as "minor details" still need to be sorted out

“The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal. There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal," a U.S. Army secretary in Abu Dhabi, where meetings between the U.S. and Russian officials were taking place this week, in a statement obtained by CNN.

Ukrainian national security secretary Rustem Umerov also confirmed that the two sides had "reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed" during negotiations "in Geneva."

"We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings held in Geneva between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations, as well as President Trump’s steadfast efforts to end the war," Umerov wrote on his X account. "Our delegations reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva. We now count on the support of our European partners in our further steps. We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine’s President to the US at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump."

Reports of the agreement came shortly after reports that U.S. and Russian officials were finalizing negotiations on the peace deal in Abu Dhabi this week. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll initially met with the Russian delegation on Monday (November 24) and the talks were expected to continue on Tuesday, the officials said in a statement obtained by NBC News.

“The talks are going well and we remain optimistic," said Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert, an Army spokesman, said in a statement obtained by NBC News.

“Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress,” he added.

A Ukrainian delegation was also reported to be in Abu Dhabi and in contact with Driscoll. Kyiv publicly stated that it hoped to finalize the deal with Trump after acknowledging that it had secured changes to the plan, which was initially viewed as granting Russia its core demands at the expense of Ukraine and its allies.

The U.S. and Ukraine were reportedly set for "intensive work" on the proposed 28-point peace plan with Russia on Monday. The two sides were reportedly working on an "updated and refined peace framework" during meetings in Geneva, officials from both countries confirmed in a joint statement obtained by NBC News, which acknowledged "meaningful progress" from the "highly productive" discussions, though no specific details were released.

Trump also gave his take on the negotiations in a post shared on his Truth Social account early Monday morning, days after publicly setting a deadline of Thursday (November 27) for the deal to get done.

"Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening," he wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he discussed the proposal with leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Germany and that he "value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war" via CBS News.

"Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice: Either loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner. Either a difficult 28 points, or an extremely difficult winter," Zelenskyy said in a separate video shared on social media Friday (November 21).

Zelenskyy also reportedly discussed the proposal with Vice President JD Vance on Friday, a Ukrainian official confirmed to CBS News.

The 28-point U.S. plan reportedly includes four general buckets: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe and future U.S. relations with both Russia and Ukraine, the sources confirmed, though it's unclear how it will approach more contentious issues such as territorial control in eastern Ukraine where the Kremlin has gained some control but far less than it's demanded previously, Axios had previously reported.

“The plan focuses on giving both sides security guarantees to secure a lasting peace,” the senior official said via NBC News. “It includes things Ukraine wants and needs to have a durable peace.”

The senior official wouldn't outline details of the proposed plan as negotiations on some key parts are ongoing. Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner were all reported to have had some involvement in drafting the plan, according to the official.

Witkoff was previously reported to have been working closely with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev on negotiations and was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey last Wednesday (November 19), but his trip was postponed. Witkoff had, however, reportedly discussed the drafted plans with Zelenskyy's national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, during a meeting in Miami that took place earlier this week, a Ukrainian official confirmed to Axios.

"We know the Americans are working on something," the official said.