Ukraine said it would reciprocate any genuine ceasefire by Moscow, but voiced skepticism after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce in Ukraine starting Saturday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the U.S. would walk away from efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine if progress isn't made within days.
The war in Ukraine is now largely being fought with drones. Ukraine made 2 million last year. Drone makers churn them out in factories and mom-and-pop operations like one in a Kyiv basement apartment.
All over Ukraine, war has made nighttime darker. Satellite imagery shows a significant dimming of lights since 2022. Darkness has spread indoors too, with power cuts becoming common during the war.
Into their fourth year of war, Ukrainians living in or near front line regions of their country grapple with their losses and contemplate an uncertain future.
The closed-door talks at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh follow U.S. consultations with a Ukrainian delegation on stabilizing the front lines and implementing a proposed 30-day armistice.
The number of troops that would help enforce a peace in Ukraine is vague. Officials have cited figures of between 10,000 and 30,000 troops as part of what's been termed a "reassurance force."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for about an hour with President Trump on Wednesday, following Trump's call on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine's president said he hopes the U.S. applies "maximum additional sanctions" on Russia if it refuses to accept a 30-day ceasefire, describing the Russian leader's "bravado" as a stalling tactic.
As U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff enters talks in Moscow on a Trump administration proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, an adviser to the Russian president rejected the idea.
Diplomatic teams from Ukraine and the United States are holding talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday in steps toward ending a full-scale war started by Russia in 2022.
China's top foreign policy official addressed the escalating trade war with the U.S. and promoted China as an "anchor" on the global stage as America retreats from international involvement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed an $840 billion plan to build up the bloc's defense, as President Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine.
