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Senior US and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia for crunch talks focused on ending the war with Russia, aiming to build confidence despite a personal crisis between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Although the two presidents will be absent, Zelenskyy has sent his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, while Trump dispatched his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, to Jeddah.
“We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” Yermak told reporters as he arrived for the talks, held in an opulent room provided by the Gulf state.
Zelenksyy, who was also in Jeddah to meet the crown prince but not in the room for the talks, has said Ukraine’s position would be “fully constructive”.
On his flight out, Rubio said Washington’s main aim was to see if Kyiv was “prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things, to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape or form”.
The stakes could not be higher for Ukraine, with the prospect of US military aid and intelligence-sharing being restarted if the talks go well. Trump cut off that critical support after the heated Oval Office argument in which he and his vice-president, JD Vance, rowed with Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. Members of the US administration have suggested repeatedly that Zelenskyy should hold elections or step down.
Domestically, Zelenskyy’s flagging ratings were boosted by his dressing down in the White House, and most Ukrainians say they would not want elections while the war continues. However, while there is anger at Trump and Elon Musk’s demands, there is a strong feeling that given the difficult situation at the front and exhaustion after three years of war, the Ukrainian president should make every effort to mend relations with the White House.
Since the debacle in Washington, Ukraine has sought to flatter Trump to prevent a peace plan from being forced upon it. Writing in the Guardian before the talks started, Yermak complimented a “strong American leadership” but said “a peace must be found that is both just and sustainable”.
Trump’s interest in Ukraine has initially focused on a money-making scheme in which Kyiv would hand over the country’s mineral wealth to the US. It is not clear if that deal will be agreed in Jeddah.
After the US president dropped support for Ukraine, European governments rallied behind the country, promising funds and military aid, but they have also put pressure on Zelenksyy to repair ties with the superpower.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, posted a social media update on Tuesday stressing the importance of Tuesday’s US-Ukraine talks.
“Dear Americans, dear Ukrainians, don’t waste this chance. The whole world is watching you in Jeddah today. Good luck!” he said.
Russia has celebrated the loss of support from Ukraine’s largest, and previously steadfast, backer. While most European governments ended working ties with Vladimir Putin after the full-scale 2022 invasion, which they say is a war of aggression, Trump has been more willing to build a rapport with the Russian leader.
A big question remains how ready Russia is for any peace deal, even in the current scenario where the Trump team seems to be requiring more sacrifices from Kyiv than Moscow.
On Tuesday, Putin’s spokesperson said the signals from Washington were causing many in Moscow to rejoice, but added there should not be premature celebration.
“You always need to hope for the best but still be prepared for the worst, and we should always be ready to defend our interests,” Dmitry Peskov said at a conference, in comments reported by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper. “Many people are rushing to put on rose-tinted spectacles and are saying that the Americans will now stop providing weapons or have already done so, that Musk will turn all the communications systems off, and everything will work out for us. But it will work out for us anyway.”
Peskov said Moscow expected the US would inform Russia about the talks with Ukraine, the Russian state news agency Tass reported.
On the battlefield, Moscow seized the moment to launch a recent offensive in the Kursk region of western Russia in an effort to eject the Ukrainian army.
On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had regained more than 100 sq km (38.6 sq miles) of territory and 12 settlements in Kursk, which was taken by Ukrainian forces seven months ago. Kyiv has said the Kursk operation was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift forces from eastern Ukraine.
In an attempt to put pressure on Moscow hours before the Jeddah peace talks, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the start of the war.
The Russian defence ministry reported 337 drones were launched at Russia overnight on Monday, including 91 targeting the Moscow region, killing two people, sparking fires and disrupting flights and train services.
“This is an additional signal to Putin that he should also be interested in a ceasefire in the air,” said Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian national security council official.
