U.S. negotiators worked on Monday to finalize details of a partial ceasefire in Ukraine and met with representatives from Russia after a separate meeting with the Ukrainian team. Both sides accuse the other of undermining efforts in the 3-year-old war.
Kiev and Moscow agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with national leaders, but the parties offered different views on the end of the attack.
While the White House said it would cover “energy and infrastructure,” the Kremlin announced that the agreement was narrowly called “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he also wants to see railways and ports protected.
Monday’s talks are expected to address some of these differences, as well as potential pauses in the Black Sea attacks to ensure the safety of commercial transport.
According to Russia’s national tass and Ria-Novosti news agencies, U.S. and Russian representatives began meetings in the Saudi capital. The U.S. and Ukraine teams meet in Riyadh on Sunday and more connections are expected, although it is unclear when.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Russian military is executing President Vladimir Putin’s order to stop attacks on energy facilities for 30 days.
Peskov accused Ukraine of derailing part of the ceasefire by derailing the partial ceasefire by attacks on gas metering stations in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia. The Ukrainian military general staff rejected Moscow’s allegations and accused Russian troops of shelling the station, Peskov’s claim called “absurd”.
Meanwhile, Russian troops launched new drones, including bait, into Ukraine overnight on Monday, causing some losses and injuries.
“The proposal of an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table since March 11, and these attacks may have stopped. But Russia has continued all of this.”
He added that Ukraine’s partners – “the United States, Europe and others around the world” should increase pressure on Russia to stop this horror.
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Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine opened up a full 30-day ceasefire proposed by Trump. But Putin completely ceased amid the cessation of arms supply and military mobilization to Ukraine, a request that Kiev and its Western allies rejected.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Fox News Sunday that he expects “some real progress” in Saudi Arabia’s talks, and that the suspension of hostilities between the two countries in the Black Sea will “naturally fall into a full-scale shooting ceasefire.”
Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said the delegation remained in Riyadh in Riyadh on Monday and was expected to meet with the Americans again.
China excludes peacekeeping forces
When asked about reports that speculation that China might send peacekeepers to Ukraine to implement any future peace agreements, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made a clear response on Monday.
“Let me emphasize that the report is completely wrong. China’s position on the Ukrainian crisis is clear and consistent,” Guo said in a daily briefing.
China provides Russia with trade income from oil and other natural resources and diplomatic support, but does not give any weapons or send any personnel. However, China is closely related to North Korea, which has sent troops to fight with Russian troops.
Ukrainian railway hit by cyber attack
On Sunday, a “targeted cyber attack” hit Ukrzaliznytsia, a railway operator in Ukraine, adding that as of Monday morning, the company wrote on Telegram on Sunday, adding that a recovery of its system was in progress.
The company said the attack did not affect train movements or schedules, but the online booking system is currently not available.
“Despite physical attacks on infrastructure, the railway continues to operate, and even the most evil cyber attacks cannot stop it,” the company wrote.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian special operations forces claimed to use the U.S.-backed Himars rocket system to destroy four military helicopters in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Special Forces released what they call the drone footage, an attack on Monday’s telegram page.
The group wrote that the strikes took place at a hidden “starting point” for Russian aircraft used in accidental attacks on Ukrainian forces.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army launched 99 attacks on Ukraine overnight on Sunday, with 57 people shooting down and 36 people losing their radar.
In the Kyiv region, a man was injured overnight and Russian drones attacked the residential area.
“The man had superficial shrapnel injuries on the abdomen, chest, thighs and head,” Mykola Kalashnyk, director of the performance in the Kiev region, wrote in a telegram on Monday.
In the Kharkif region, a Russian drone attacked a residential building in the village of Velyka Babka, hurting a 25-year-old man and a pregnant woman. On Monday morning, district head Oleh Syniehubov said in a telegram.
In Zaporizhzhia, an elderly woman suffered minor injuries in an elderly woman in Zaporizhzhia, the head of the region, Ivan Fedorov, wrote in a telegram.
Novikov reported on Kiev, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen contributed to the report in Beijing.
