Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said. No large-scale damage was reported.
In the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, journalists briefly entered a room where senior Ukrainian delegation met with America’s top diplomat for talks on ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio smiled for the cameras. Asked what is his expectations for the meeting were, Rubio gave a thumbs up and replied, “Good.”
Ukrainian officials, including the country's top diplomat and defense chief, sat without expression at a table across from them as the meeting got underway at a luxury hotel. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian or U.S. officials on the drone attack.
However, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak commented to reporters that the most important thing was “how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” He said security guarantees were important to prevent Russia from invading again in the future. In 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was on hand for the talks as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags stood in the background. Officials did not answer any of the shouted questions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States will inform Russia about the results of the Jeddah talks, which he described as “normal practice.”
The talks offer an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine’s relationship with Trump’s administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during President Zelenskyy's recent visit to the White House. Critically, Ukraine needs to persuade Washington to end the subsequent U.S. suspension of military aid and some intelligence sharing. U.S. officials have said that positive talks in Jeddah could mean it may be only a short suspension.
Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press on Monday that they will propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea, which would bring safer shipping, as well long-range missile strikes that have hit civilians in Ukraine, and the release of prisoners.
The two senior officials said Kyiv is also ready to sign an agreement with the United States on access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals — a deal that U.S. President Donald Trump is keen to secure.
On his plane to Jeddah, Rubio said the U.S. delegation would not be proposing any specific measures to secure an end to the three-year conflict but rather wanted to hear from Ukraine about what they would be willing to consider.
“I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do,” Rubio told reporters accompanying him. “I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are.”
Rubio said the rare earths and critical minerals deal could be signed during the meeting but stressed it was not a precondition for the United States to move ahead with discussions with either Ukraine or the Russians.
He said it may, in fact, make more sense to take some time to negotiate the precise details of the agreement, which is now a broad memorandum of understanding that leaves out many specifics.
The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions. Russia has said it’s ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognizes regions that Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory since the war began.
