MOSCOW/WASHINGTON - Moscow and Washington keep in touch, but there are no consultations on Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"There are certainly contacts. But a process that could be called consultations -- no, it's not underway," Peskov told reporters, commenting on potential consultations on achieving peace in Ukraine.

Peskov said Russia remains open to the Ukraine settlement, but it must lead to the "elimination of the root causes of this conflict."

He added that "any time" is opportune to resolve the conflict through political and diplomatic means.

Previously, media reports cited sources as saying that the United States is developing a new proposal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and is holding consultations with Russia on it. 

US army secretary 'optimistic'

US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was "very optimistic" after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss a new US peace plan, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said at a briefing that US President Donald Trump supports the emerging plan.

"It's a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides. And we're working very hard to get it done," she said.

She said US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and State Secretary Marco Rubio have spent the past month quietly drafting the framework and "engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace."

Zelensky's office said in a statement Thursday that the Ukrainian president would speak with Trump in the coming days to discuss "diplomatic opportunities and the key points required to achieve peace," according to reports.

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US media reports say the current draft plan contains 28 points, including major territorial concessions by Ukraine and sharp reductions in its armed forces, as well as limits on access to long-range weapon types. The plan may also rule out the deployment of European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after a ceasefire.

The disclosures have drawn sharp reactions in Europe, where officials fear being sidelined in the negotiating process and view aspects of the draft as favoring Russia.

It was reported that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stressed Thursday that any viable peace plan requires the support of Ukraine and Europe.

Russia-Ukraine talks have stalled since the Trump-Putin meeting in August in the US state of Alaska. 

Key city

Russian forces have taken control of the strategic city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov region in eastern Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said Thursday.

Units of the Zapad (West) group have seized the city of Kupyansk and are continuing to destroy Ukrainian forces encircled on the left bank of the Oskol River, Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gerasimov said that advances are underway in Krasnoarmeysk, another strategic city in eastern Ukraine, adding that over 75 percent of the city's territory is now under Russian control.

Russian troops have taken 13 villages since the beginning of November -- six in the Dnipropetrovsk region and seven in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said.

Kupyansk is a key logistics hub and defense stronghold for Ukrainian forces in the Kharkov region. Russia previously controlled the city from February to September 2022, during which time it served as the region's administrative center. 

26 killed in Russian attack

At least 26 people were killed and 93 others injured in a Russian attack on Ukraine's western city of Ternopil on Wednesday, according to the National Police.

"The search operation for those whose whereabouts are still unknown continues in Ternopil," the police said in a post on Telegram on Thursday morning.

The overnight strike hit two apartment buildings and three children were among the victims, it said.

The State Service for Emergencies reported that 46 people have been rescued from under the rubble, with the search still underway.

The Ukrainian Air Force said apartment buildings in Ternopil were hit by Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers. In total, Russia launched 476 drones and 48 missiles at Ukraine during the attack, of which 442 drones and 41 missiles were intercepted.

Ukraine receives 1,000 bodies

Meanwhile, Ukraine brought home 1,000 bodies, which, according to the Russian side, belonged to fallen Ukrainian soldiers, a government agency reported on Thursday.

"Law enforcement investigators, together with expert institutions of the Interior Ministry, will soon carry out all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies," Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.

The repatriation was conducted with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross.