Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia to offer partial ceasefire to US

BarcelonaIn the middle of some high tensions and after that Washington to withdraw military aid to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Saudi Arabia 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 shaky visit to the White House. Zelensky arrives with the intention of proposing to the United States a partial truce, at sea and in the air, as he had previously said. He made progress last week in a public statement addressed to Washington.

According to Ukrainian sources who spoke to the country's public television, the partial ceasefire proposed by Zelensky would cover the Black Sea and long-range missiles, and would also include the release of prisoners. The Ukrainian delegation is also willing to sign Agreement to give the United States access to critical minerals and rare earths from Ukraine. "As we have told President Donald Trump, Ukraine is and will work exclusively constructively for a quick and solid peace," Zelensky said on Thursday. Upon arriving in Jidda, the western Saudi coastal city where the talks will take place, Zelensky was greeted by Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of the Saudi region of Mecca, and members of the Saudi government.

Zelensky met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is acting as mediator in the talks. Bin Salman met shortly afterward with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who landed in Jidda at the head of the US delegation. Speaking to reporters on the plane to Saudi Arabia, Rubio sounded confident that his meeting with Ukraine tomorrow “will go well”: “The whole notion of the pause in [U.S. military] aid in Ukraine in general is something I hope we can work out,”

Tomorrow’s meeting with Ukraine is also expected to include 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.

Talks between the two delegations will likely focus on 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 statement. The Kyiv Independent.

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 something done. We're going to make a lot of progress," the president said aboard Air Force One on Sunday night as he returned to Washington from Florida.

Attacks continue on the front lines

While the delegations are taking up their positions at the negotiating table, activity on the front line continues. 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 claimed control of the settlement of Ivashkovski on Monday and were advancing towards the "hot spot" of Kursk from at least seven directions.

In addition, Russia reportedly launched 176 drones against Ukrainian territory in an attack tonight. 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 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 giving details of the guests. The French president was the first to 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.