In a critical move, Donald Trump has sent his trusted special envoy to Moscow for decisive discussions with Vladimir Putin, as concerns mount over the potential collapse of his Ukraine peace initiative.

A U.S. official revealed on Tuesday that Ukraine has accepted a new 19-point agreement. This deal, however, is less advantageous for Russia, allowing Washington and Kyiv to have the final word on key territorial conflicts and U.S. security assurances.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has issued a warning, stating that if this plan disregards the crucial agreements reached between Putin and Trump during the August summit in Alaska, the entire situation could take a dramatic turn.

Amid rising tensions, Trump took to Truth Social today, as concerned insiders in Washington speculate that Putin may outright reject the new agreement due to the significant concessions made to Ukraine.

The President commented, “The original 28-point peace plan, initially formulated by the United States, has been refined with further contributions from both parties, leaving only a few unresolved issues.”

He added that he had dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff, the architect of the Gaza peace deal, to meet with Putin in Moscow.

‘I look forward to hopefully meeting with president [Volodymyr] Zelensky and president Putin soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final,’ Trump added.

Hopes that the bloody conflict might finally be brought to an end were buoyed by reports on Tuesday morning that the Ukrainian president had accepted the terms of the new deal. Skeptics have warned that Putin will refuse the new proposal.

The Russian delegation is likely to reject the revised peace plan agreed by US-Ukrainian officials on Tuesday; Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are seen meeting in August

President Zelensky is expected to meet with Trump administration officials in the US

The deal no longer includes amnesty guarantees for atrocities committed during the war. Kyiv has agreed to cap its army at 800,000 men.

That initial plan had permanently ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, limited its army to 600,000, proposed handing the rest of Donbas to Russia – albeit as a demilitarized zone – and mandated that Kyiv hold elections within 100 days.

All those clauses are reported to have since been amended or shelved for now.

Zelensky confirmed that talks with Washington were ongoing in a post on X, adding: ‘I am grateful for all of America’s efforts and personally for President Trump’s efforts.’

Trump’s special envoy US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with the Russian delegation in the United Arab Emirates on Monday for secret talks. The meeting came after Driscoll’s weekend talks with Ukraine in Geneva that were aimed at pushing the peace forward, according to a US official. 

Trump, galvanized by his success in Gaza, ratcheted pressure on Zelensky last week to end the war, which has killed 300,000 people since Putin launched his invasion in February 2022. 

America’s European allies were reportedly left stunned that Trump had threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to press Zelensky into the deal.

The US put the peace plan to Kyiv at the end of last week and set a Thursday deadline for them to sign on the dotted line, sources claimed.

‘Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

‘There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.’

Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Tolbert, a US Army spokesman, said: ‘Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.

‘The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the US interagency as these talks progress.’

Driscoll was elevated by Trump to spearhead negotiations after the president had a private discussion with Vice-President JD Vance two weeks ago. A secretary official representing the US military is typically not involved in diplomatic talks.

The ongoing negotiations occur amid the backdrop of brutal overnight bombings in Kyiv, with Russian missiles raining destruction down on residential buildings. 

Moscow triggered death and terror with new attacks on civilians, killing at least six, including an 86-year-old woman. 

Residents were heard screaming for help after an Iranian-designed Shahed drone ignited an inferno in a tower block, with two power plants supplying hot water to homes destroyed. 

The Russian Defense Ministry said that 249 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight

A Ukrainian onslaught hit a major Russian aircraft manufacturing plant, triggering a ‘glow like after a nuclear explosion’

Three people were killed and at least 16 injured with residential buildings damaged in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, Russian officials said

A Russian drone penetrated some 50 miles inside the independent state of Moldova before ending up on the roof of a house in the village of Nizhnie Kugureshty.

Ukraine, meanwhile, responded with its own barrage of aerial attacks on Russia.

Dramatic footage indicated a wayward Russian air defense missile struck a residential building in a new friendly fire incident in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where a wave of Ukrainian strikes also caused casualties.

Three people were killed, and at least 16 were injured, with residential buildings damaged in Novorossiysk and the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, Russian officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that 249 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, including 116 over the Black Sea, and 92 over the southern regions of Krasnodar and Rostov.

Russian drones attacking Ukraine’s Odesa region flew over Romanian airspace, forcing NATO to scramble four warplanes in response. 

In Kyiv, Russia hit two hot water power plants – CHP-5 and CHP-6, and a hydroelectric power station. The city was plunged into power and water outages, as well as transport disruptions.

The attack was evidently aimed at pummeling Ukraine into agreeing to an unfavorable peace plan.

A broken window in front of a damaged residential building following an air attack in Kyiv today

Residents were heard screaming for help after a Shahed drone strike ignited an inferno in a tower block, with two power plants supplying piped hot water heating to homes also destroyed

Putin’s foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov said that British, EU and Ukrainian-inspired changes to the original US draft submitted over the weekend were ‘unconstructive’. 

On Saturday, leaders from Europe, Canada and Japan signed a joint statement at the G20 summit in South Africa, saying that the peace deal had elements ‘essential for a just and lasting peace’, but would ‘require additional work’, citing concerns over territory and limits on Ukraine’s army. 

The EU submitted a modified version of the US’s peace plan for Ukraine that pushed back on proposed limits to Kyiv’s armed forces and territorial concessions.

The document, drafted by the so-called European E3 powers – Britain, France and Germany – proposes the capping of Ukraine’s military at 800,000 ‘in peacetime’ rather than a blanket cap of 600,000.

It also says ‘negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact’, rather than pre-determining that certain areas should be recognized as ‘de facto Russian’, as the US plan suggests.

It proposes that Ukraine receive a security guarantee from the United States similar to NATO’s Article 5 clause.