Who is negotiating the potential peace deal for the US, Russia and Ukraine?

Earlier this week, representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi to try and find consensus on ending nearly four years of war after Russia invaded Ukraine.

As talks continue, our experts have written about who is negotiating the potential peace deal for the US, Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine war latest: Russia contradicts Trump on peace talks

Who is US army secretary Dan Driscoll?

By Mark Stone, US correspondent

As army secretary, Dan Driscoll is one of the top civilians within the Pentagon.

He leads the US Department of the Army, one of the three military departments within the Department of War (formerly the Department of Defence, before Donald Trump's rebrand).

In the hierarchy, he sits just under Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, but the speculation in Washington is that there is tension between the two of them.

Mr Hegseth can't fire or purge Mr Driscoll, though, because he is a close friend of the vice president.

He and JD Vance were at Yale together and Mr Trump likes him.

Unusually for a Trump official, he also enjoys bipartisan popularity.

It was Mr Driscoll who was sent to present the 28-point plan to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last week.

Who is Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev?

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

A key figure on the Russian side is Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, who seems to have developed a close relationship with Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in particular.

Whenever the American envoy is in Moscow, Mr Dmitriev is never far away.

The 50-year-old was born in Ukraine, and later educated in the US at Stanford and Harvard.

A trained economist, he previously worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and had a job with the consultancy firm McKinsey.

In 2011, he became head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, and that's when he began to climb the Kremlin ladder.

Personal connections may have aided his rise - his wife works closely with one of Mr Putin's daughters.

And when it comes to dealing with America, he has long been Mr Putin's point man.

In 2016, he led Moscow's early contacts with the first Trump administration, and he's been at the vanguard once again now.

The initial 28-point peace plan, which heavily favoured Russia, was reportedly the result of a Miami meeting between Mr Witkoff, Mr Dmitriev and Mr Trump's son-in-law and informal adviser Jared Kushner in October.

Who is Ukrainian commander Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov?

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov is one of Ukraine's top commanders and one of the country's youngest.

At just 39, he's led the Ukrainian military intelligence service - or GUR - since before Russia's full-scale invasion.

But Lt Gen Budanov has been waging covert operations against Russian forces since Vladimir Putin first targeted Ukraine in 2014.

In that time, Lt Gen Budanov has been wounded on three occasions in battle, received awards for courage and even survived an assassination attempt.

His wife has also been targeted in a poisoning. She too survived.

A close ally of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Lt Gen Budanov was once touted as a potential candidate to become defence minister.

But he has stayed in his intelligence role, overseeing top secret operations, including a major ongoing mission to develop and deploy long-range drones loaded with explosives that are being launched against military and energy targets deep inside Russia.

Wanted by Russia over an attack against a large bridge that links Crimea to Russia in 2022, Lt Gen Budanov's selection to take part in peace talks in Abu Dhabi with American and Russian officials may not be particularly welcomed by Moscow.

Still, it is a sign that this Ukrainian general is one to watch.

(c) Sky News 2025: Who is negotiating the potential peace deal for the US, Russia and Ukraine?