UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS ARRIVE FOR PEACE TALKS WITH U.S. – Trump said the Ukrainian leader was not ready for peace and pressed on with direct talks with Russia
Ukrainian and U.S. officials began their talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to find a path toward ending the war with Russia, hours after Kyiv’s forces launched their largest drone attack on Moscow to date.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes the talks in Jeddah will revive “pragmatic” U.S. ties after his disastrous meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump last month and he has suggested an initial truce with Russia in the air and at sea.
The proposal is aimed at demonstrating that he is working towards Trump’s objective to end the war at lightning speed, after the U.S. president accused the Ukrainian leader of not being ready for peace and pressed on with direct talks with Russia.
The United States, Kyiv’s main ally since the 2022 invasion, has upended its policy on the war and piled pressure on Ukraine, stopping military assistance and pausing intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
“We hope for practical outcomes,” Zelenskiy said ahead of the talks in a post on X late on Monday. “Ukraine’s position in these talks will be fully constructive.”
Trump has framed the deal, which is set to be discussed on Tuesday, as key to continued U.S. support and compensation for many billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.
