Trump administration to resume military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would immediately lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine and its intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

It came more than a week after the US imposed the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.

The announcement came at talks between Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine also said it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, subject to Kremlin agreement.

The announcements emerged as senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks in Saudi Arabia focused on ending Moscow’s three-year war against Kyiv and hours after Russia shot down more than 300 Ukrainian drones.

It was Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorised to comment publicly.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin.

“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” Mr Rubio said.

“If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”

US national security adviser Mike Waltz said: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”

Mr Waltz said negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end”, including long-term security guarantees.

And, he said, Mr Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply of billions of of dollars of US military aid and intelligence sharing.

Meanwhile, in an address posted shortly after Tuesday’s eight hours of talks ended, Mr Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to achieving a lasting peace, emphasising that the country has sought an end to the war since its outset.

“Our position is absolutely clear: Ukraine has strived for peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything possible to achieve it as soon as possible – securely and in a way that ensures war does not return,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Trump said he hopes the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposal can be solidified “over the next few days”.

“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” Mr Trump added.

The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the US and Ukrainian statements.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said only that negotiations with US officials could take place this week.

However, in Moscow, hawkish politicians and military bloggers spoke strongly against a prospective ceasefire, arguing that it would play into Kyiv’s hands and damage Moscow’s interests at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the fighting.

“A ceasefire isn’t what we need,” wrote hard-line ideologue Alexander Dugin.

Viktor Sobolev, a retired general who is a member of the Russian parliament’s lower house, warned that a 30-day truce would allow Ukraine to beef up arms supplies and regroup its troops before resuming hostilities.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political commentator, suggested that Moscow could demand a halt on Western arms supplies to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire.

“An embargo on arms supplies to Ukraine could be a condition for a truce,” he wrote.

Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak earlier told 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.

It was the first meeting between the two sides since the Oval Office argument between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky last month.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was also on hand as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags could be seen in the background. Officials did not answer any of the journalists’ shouted questions.

The delegations met for about three hours in the morning before taking a break, and officials said the talks continued in the afternoon.

There was also no immediate comment from Ukrainian or US officials on the massive attack in which 343 drones targeted 10 Russian regions, leaving three people dead and 18 wounded, including three children, officials said.

Meanwhile, Russia launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war.

On the streets of Kyiv, Ukrainians kept an eye on the Saudi talks.

Lena Herasymenko, a psychologist, said she accepts that compromises will be necessary to end the war, but she said they must be “reasonable”.

“We had massive losses during this war, and we don’t know yet how much more we’ll have,” she told The Associated Press. “We are suffering every day. Our kids are suffering, and we don’t know how the future generation will be affected.”

Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier who could give only his first name because of security restrictions, warned that Ukraine cannot let down its guard down.

“If there is a ceasefire, it would only give Russia time to increase its firepower, manpower, missiles and other arms. Then they would attack Ukraine again,” he said.

The meeting in Jeddah offered an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine’s relationship with the Trump administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during Mr Zelensky’s February 28 visit to the White House.

Ukrainian officials told AP on Monday that they will propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea, which would bring safer shipping, as well as 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 Mr Trump is keen to secure.

The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions. Russia has said it is ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join Nato and recognises regions that Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.

Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a year, though at a high cost in infantry and armour, and are pushing at selected points along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, against Ukraine’s understrength and weary army.