Kyiv/Riyadh: Ukrainian and US officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia late Sunday to explore a potential partial ceasefire with Russia. The meeting is as part of an intensified diplomatic effort led by US President Donald Trump to end the three-year war.
The discussions will precede direct US-Russia talks scheduled for Monday, following a series of earlier meetings in Saudi Arabia.
Kyiv had previously accepted a 30-day truce proposal during prior negotiations, with Ukraine’s delegation at Sunday’s meeting led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasized that this leadership would allow Ukraine to act “quickly and substantively.”
Last Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Trump’s proposal for a 30-day halt on attacks targeting energy infrastructure. However, this agreement stopped short of a broader ceasefire Kyiv and Washington had sought. Trump expressed cautious optimism on Saturday, stating that efforts to de-escalate the conflict were somewhat under control.
Meanwhile, Russian and US negotiators meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday are expected to focus on securing maritime safety in the Black Sea, a critical trade route that has been severely affected by the war.
Despite ongoing diplomatic maneuvers, fighting continues on multiple fronts. Russian forces have maintained their slow but steady advances in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.
Overnight, a large-scale Russian drone strike on Kyiv killed at least three people, including a five-year-old child, and caused significant damage to residential buildings. Meanwhile, Russian authorities reported destroying 59 Ukrainian drones targeting southwestern Russia, with one fatality reported in Rostov.
