US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday about a proposed plan for ending the war in Ukraine, with talks to continue Tuesday, a US official told CNN.

European Council President Antonio Costa pledged on Monday that the European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine, as he hailed "new momentum" in peace negotiations to end the war triggered by Russia's invasion.

Mass graves and bullet-scarred churches mark the torment of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha under Russian occupation, where traumatised residents now face a new anguish: a U.S.-led peace proposal that would offer a blanket post-war amnesty for the perpetrators of atrocities. (AP video shot by Oleksii Yeroshenko)

With Russia looming, governments race to rebuild armed forces that shrank after the Cold War, grappling with hard issues of economics, politics and military strategy.

The prospect of a possible deal between Russia and Ukraine brokered by the U.S. sent European defense stocks lower again on Monday. Rheinmetall, Hensoldt and Renk all fell around 4%, with the Stoxx Europe aerospace and defense sector now down 14% from its early October peak,

European leaders sought to buy time for Ukraine to work out a new ceasefire framework with Russia after the Trump administration set a one-week deadline to agree to terms that Kyiv and its allies rejected as an unacceptable giveaway to Moscow.

Ukraine did not react positively to the peace deal brokered through the U.S., prompting European leaders to craft a counter-offer.

Trump has bludgeoned Ukraine back to the peace table. European leaders are desperate for a look in. But is peace near?