By Ryan Morgan
Contributing Writer
Kyiv has agreed to enter into a 30-day cease-fire with Moscow as a means of kickstarting further talks to end the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.
Delegations from Washington and Kyiv shared a joint statement on Tuesday announcing the proposed 30-day pause in the fighting, after concluding a lengthy round of discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House national security adviser Mike Waltz represented the United States at the Jeddah talks, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov represented Kyiv.
“We‘ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they’ll say yes,” Rubio said in a press statement following the meeting.
Tuesday’s meeting offered an opportunity for the representatives from Washington and Kyiv to resume in-person talks after a Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy devolved into an argument over Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate and make compromises with Russia.
In the days after the Oval Office spat, Trump ordered a pause on all U.S. aid flowing to Ukraine, including intelligence sharing. Following the Jeddah talks, the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations announced the United States would lift its hold on intelligence sharing with Ukraine and resume security assistance.
“The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things,” Rubio told reporters on Monday, while en route to the meeting.
Rubio said Russia would also have to prepare for difficult decisions to facilitate an eventual peace arrangement.
Asked what specific difficult decisions the Trump administration expects Ukraine to prepare for, Rubio said both sides need to conclude that the current conflict cannot be resolved by military means.
“The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine, in any reasonable time period, to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” Rubio said Monday.
Just hours before the talks began, Ukrainian forces launched hundreds of attack drones into 10 different Russian regions. Russian authorities reported downing 343 of the attack drones, but assessed three people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children.
Separately, Ukrainian officials assessed Russia had launched 126 attack drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force reported shooting down the ballistic missile and 79 of the drones, while another 35 drones failed to reach their targets for other unspecified reasons.
This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.
