US army secretary Dan Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks with Ukraine’s military intelligence chief and a Russian delegation as Washington pushes a peace deal to end the Kremlin’s war.

From the front-line city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk, to Zaporizhzhia in the south, there is little doubt that Russia is making advances. But, battlefield monitors suggest the picture is not quite so bleak for Ukraine as Trump and Putin suggest.

Some European leaders have pushed back against parts of the the U.S.-led Ukraine peace plan, demanding full involvement in negotiations as talks continue.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, has warned the proposal to end the war with Russia could come with consequences.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Kyiv was working with partners "to look for compromises that strengthen, but not weaken us."

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Monday to discuss trade, Taiwan and Ukraine, according to the White House and Chinese officials.

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the latest on talks to end the war in Ukraine on 'The Story.'

Both Russia and Ukraine need their helicopters, but they are vulnerable. Ukraine has been able to take some out with aerial and naval drones.