Ukraine, US to hold talks on Russia-Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia next week

Ukraine and the United States have indicated they will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss a framework for ending Russia’s war, as Moscow launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure.

Russia’s attack overnight on Thursday came after Washington suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv after a fiery exchange between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Zelenskyy said on Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before bilateral talks with US officials.

US envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed he would meet Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, signalling that he would discuss an “initial ceasefire” and a “framework” for a longer agreement.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the talks would take place in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.It will be the first high-level gathering of US and Ukrainian officials since the February 28 meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump devolved into a shouting match and ended with the Ukrainian leader being asked to leave the White House.‘Ukraine wants to make a deal’
Trump, in an exchange with reporters on Thursday, said he believed his administration had made “a lot of progress” in recent days with both Ukraine and Russia, but did not specify how.

“I think what’s going to happen is Ukraine wants to make a deal because I don’t think they have a choice,” Trump said.

“I also think that Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way – a different way that only I know, only I know – they have no choice either.”

Witkoff on Thursday noted that Zelenskyy has been apologetic in recent days about the White House blow-up and expressed gratitude.

He was wary about whether the much-touted deal to give the US access to Ukrainian minerals would be signed during the meeting in Saudi Arabia. “We’ll see if he follows through,” Witkoff added.

The proposed deal is seen by many analysts as an attempt by Kyiv to win the support of the new US administration amid tensions over Washington’s outreach to Moscow to end the Ukraine war.

Trump administration officials have said the economic pact would bind the US and Ukraine closer together and would give Russian President Vladimir Putin pause before considering malign action against Ukraine in the future.

The agreement would give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth deposits and could be of value to US aerospace, electric vehicle and medical manufacturing.Russia must ‘stop’ attacks
In Ukraine, the country’s air force said Russia had launched at least 58 missiles and nearly 200 drones, damaging energy facilities across the country from Kharkiv in the east to Ternopil in the west.

Regional officials from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the western city of Ternopil reported damage to energy and other infrastructure, with at least 10 people injured.

Responding to the attacks, Zelenskyy reiterated his call for a truce covering air and sea, though not ground troops.

“The first steps to establishing real peace should be forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks,” said the Ukrainian President on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia frequently targets Ukrainian cities and towns far from the front lines with drones, but Friday’s attack was the first large-scale assault since the suspension of US military aid and intelligence earlier this week.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said the US withdrawal of support could help Russia to carry out attacks on Ukraine.

“After Washington withdrew its military aid [and] intelligence sharing, that will have had an impact on the battleground because for the Ukrainians that intelligence was vital to stop Russian attacks, to coordinate counter-attacks, for satellite imagery, all that has now stopped … It could enable Russia to make more gains.”