Live: Zelensky to meet Saudi crown prince ahead of US-Ukraine peace talks in Jeddah

By: Diya GUPTA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in on Monday, a day ahead of crucial talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Jeddah on ending the war with Russia. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments.

‘Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war’: Zelensky

Ukraine to propose sky and sea ceasefire at Saudi talks with US

Kyiv will propose an aerial and naval ceasefire with Russia during talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, a Ukrainian official told AFP.

“We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea, because these are the ceasefire options that are easy to install and to monitor and it’s possible to start with them,” the official told AFP on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kremlin says hard road ahead to restore Russia-US relations, but there is political will

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia and the United States were at the initial stage of a long, hard road to restore their relations, but presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had expressed their political will to move ahead.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said it was important to determine whether Ukraine, which is due to hold high-level diplomatic talks with the US in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, was interested in peace or not.

Zelensky says Ukraine wants peace ahead of US talks

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday ahead of talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia that Ukraine wants peace and Russia is the “only reason” that the war has dragged on.

“Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war, and we have always said that the only reason that the war is continuing is because of Russia,” Zelensky said on social media.

Russia has launched a cross-border offensive in Ukraine’s Sumy region, Ukraine’s border guard said on Monday, and in recent days has stopped up its pressure on Ukrainian troops holding parts of its Kursk…

‘Washington hopes that Kyiv changes its stance and gives in to Russia’

Ukrainian and US negotiators are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. While the upcoming talks are an improvement from the results of the disastrous oval office meeting, there is still uncertainty about the outcome as US President Donald Trump has refused to reconsider the pause in US military aid to Ukraine, reports FRANCE 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze from Kyiv.

Moscow recaptures key villages in Kursk region

Russia is advancing on the battlefield in the Kursk region which Ukraine had wanted to use as a bargaining chip in upcoming peace talks, FRANCE 24’s Vedika Bahl and Nicholas Rushworth report.

Ukraine shot down 130 drones launched by Russia overnight, air force says

The Ukrainian military said on Monday that Russia launched 176 drones during its overnight attack.

The country’s armed forces shot down 130 drones and another 42 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military said in a statement on Telegram.

It did not specify what happened to the remaining four drones.

Russian forces advance further in Kursk

Russian forces advanced further in Kursk region on Monday as part of a major encirclement operation aimed at forcing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to either flee or surrender in western Russia, pro-Russian war bloggers said.

Russian forces on Sunday recaptured three more settlements in Kursk after special forces crept for miles through a gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha in an attempt to surprise Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine launches overnight drone attack in Russia’s Samara region

Firefighters are battling a large fire in a warehouse in Novokuibyshevsk in Russia’s Samara region, Ukraine authorities and media said on Monday.

“There are no injuries,” the emergency ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, citing early details. The RIA news agency said a warehouse was on fire.

It also cited the region’s governor as saying Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack targeting enterprises in the region.

Zelensky heads to Saudi Arabia ahead of crucial US talks

President Volodymyr Zelensky travels to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, ahead of talks between Ukrainian and US officials on ending the war with Russia at an increasingly precarious moment for Kyiv.

The United States, once Ukraine’s main ally, has upended its wartime policies in its stated pursuit of a rapid end to the fighting, engaging directly with Moscow while cutting off military assistance and intelligence sharing for Kyiv.

Zelensky is expected to meet Mohammed bin Salman, whose Saudi Arabia has played various mediating roles since Russia’s 2022 invasion, including brokering prisoner exchanges and hosting talks between Russia and the United States last month.

Yesterday’s key events:

• US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States had “just about” ended a suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
• German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Sunday said he would like talks with France and Britain about sharing their nuclear weapons, but not as a substitute for US nuclear protection of Europe.
• Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had recaptured three more settlements in western Kursk region where they are trying to evict Ukrainian troops holding chunks of territory seven months after a cross-border incursion.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)