THR INDEPENDENT
The US and Ukraine are currently locked in crunch talks in Saudi Arabia to try and find a way to end Russia’s invasion – in the wake of Kyiv’s largest drone attack of the war.
At least three people were killed and around 18 injured in the strikes, which included 343 drones launched against Russia. More than 90 were aimed at the capital Moscow and the surrounding region. Russia has repeatedly launched mass missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities across three years of fighting, launching 126 drones and a ballistic missile on Tuesday.
One of the proposals that Ukrainian officials brought to the talks in the port city of Jeddah was a truce in the air and sea that would halt such attacks; Ukrainian officials have made clear that the overnight assault was a signal to Vladimir Putin to take that seriously.
“The largest drone attack in history was carried out on Moscow and the Moscow region,” said Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian national security council official responsible for countering disinformation. “This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is not at the talks, hopes the meeting in Jeddah will revive “pragmatic” US ties after a fiery clash with Donald Trump at the White House almost two weeks ago which descended into a 10-minute argument.
“The meeting has begun very constructively,” Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff who is leading the Ukrainian delegation, wrote on Telegram. He later added that the discussions were a “work in progress” before a cryptic message containing pictures of the two delegations and a handshake emoji. Ahead of the talks, Mr Yermak said Ukraine stands “ready to do everything to achieve peace”.
US national security adviser Mike Waltz, who is part of the Washington delegation, said during the afternoon that the negotiations with Ukraine were “getting there” – with the talks stretching beyond six hours.
In the wake of the White House spat, the United States stopped military assistance and paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv, and British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Trump on Monday that he hoped those moves could be reversed as a result of the talks.
An investigator looks at the damage to an apartment building where a downed Ukrainian drone fell in Sapronovo village, outside Moscow
An investigator looks at the damage to an apartment building where a downed Ukrainian drone fell in Sapronovo village, outside Moscow (AP)
The Oval Office clash also left the signing of a bilateral minerals deal and Kyiv’s bid to obtain security guarantees from Washington in limbo. Mr Trump has framed the minerals deal, which was also part of the discussions on Tuesday, as key to continued US support and “compensation” for many billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.
Ahead of the talks, Mr Yermak told reporters that security guarantees remained key for Ukraine, but suggested they might only be looked at in a preliminary way on Tuesday. “Most important is how to start this process and we are very open,” he said.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is leading the delegation from Washington, smiled for the cameras ahead of the talks. When asked what his expectations for the meeting were, he gave a thumbs up and replied, “Good.” While travelling to Jeddah, Mr Rubio said he would not be proposing any specific measures to secure an end to the conflict but rather wanted to hear from Ukraine about what it would be willing to consider.
“I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do,” Mr Rubio said. “I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are…
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