Ukraine kicks off a key week with Zelensky's visit to Saudi Arabia

BarcelonaIn the middle of some high tensions and after that Washington to withdraw military aid to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the first meeting of a week that could be key to ceasefire negotiations. On Tuesday, a Ukrainian delegation is scheduled to meet with US representatives in the city of Jeddah after the Ukrainian's eventful visit to the White House. "As we have told President Donald Trump, Ukraine is and will work exclusively in a constructive way for a quick and solid peace," Zelensky said on Thursday. Upon arriving in Jeddah, the western coastal city of Saudi Arabia where the talks will take place, Zelensky was greeted by Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of the Saudi region of Mecca.

The US delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz, who was responsible for ousting Zelensky from the White House after the fateful meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office, are also expected to attend. Speaking to reporters on the plane to Saudi Arabia, Rubio expressed confidence that his meeting with Ukraine tomorrow "will go well" and that the pause in US military and intelligence aid in Kiev "can be resolved."

The Ukrainian delegation will be led by the head of the Presidential Office, Andri Iermak, and his deputy, Pavlo Palis, as well as by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andi Sibiha, and the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov. "Ukraine has been seeking peace from the first second of this war," said the Ukrainian president on Monday, who stressed that "there are realistic proposals on the table," while expressing his conviction that "the key is to act quickly and effectively."

The United States special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said that the meeting would be "a good meeting" and a "good sign for the Russians, because they have also been proactive in wanting to do something about it."

For his part, the American president, Donald Trump, expects "great progress" in these meetings in Saudi Arabia. "As you know, a lot of people have been killed this week in Ukraine, not just Ukrainians, but Russians as well. So I think everybody wants to see something done. We'll make a lot of progress," the president said aboard Air Force One on Sunday night as he returned to Washington from Florida.

Talks between the two delegations will likely revolve around resuming military aid and intelligence sharing. Some of the steps expected range from peace talks and "confidence-building" measures to a unilateral ceasefire, according to the report. The Kyiv Independent. In fact, the AFP news agency claims that Kiev will propose an air and sea truce because it is the "easiest to establish and control," citing a senior Ukrainian official. Also at stake are the resumption of military aid from the White House and the signing of theagreement for the exploitation of rare earths who should have locked himself in Washington on the day of Zelensky's troubled meeting with Trump.

Attacks on the front continue

While the delegations are establishing their positions at the negotiating table, activity on the front line remains the best incentive for each side to demand a favourable peace agreement. That is why fighting has intensified in recent weeks, especially in Kursk. This Russian region, which was captured by Ukrainian forces in a surprise raid in August, is crucial for Kiev, which wants to use it as a bargaining chip in the negotiations. But Russian forces, which had already recaptured at least 800 km of the occupied zone in February, are carrying out a major encirclement operation to force Kiev's soldiers to retreat. In a major paratrooper offensive, they are now threatening to cut off Ukraine's supply lines and possible withdrawal routes for the deployed troops. According to the Russian war blog Two Majors, Moscow's forces had cleared the settlement of Ivashkovski on Monday and were advancing towards the "hot spot" of Kursk from at least seven directions.

Meanwhile, Russia reportedly launched 176 drones against Ukrainian territory in an attack on Wednesday evening. Ukraine claims to have shot down 130 of these drones and that another 42 did not hit their targets.

European coalition ready to send troops

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tuesday in Paris to meet European countries willing to send troops to Ukraine. Macron, who appears to be willing to become the visible face of Europe in the negotiations, said he wants to promote "exploratory talks" with the presence of a representative of the US military or the NATO military command, without specifying who will be invited. The French president put on the table a peace plan that would begin with a one-month air and sea truce, followed by a second stage that would involve the deployment of troops in Ukraine. A deployment that Russia is strongly opposed to.

Also this week, the G-7 foreign ministers' meeting will take place in Canada. Talks will focus on Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific region, the Americas and Africa, according to the Canadian President's Office.