Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia on March 10 where he is scheduled to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
Zelenskyy’s trip comes a day before crunch talks between Ukrainian and US delegations in the Saudi city of Jeddah aimed at ending Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine.
The US, Kyiv’s key military backer, is seeking a swift end to the conflict, holding direct talks with Moscow while suspending military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
The US-Ukrainian talks on March 11 will be the first formal meeting since an Oval Office argument between Zelenskyy, US President Trump, and US Vice President JD Vance on February 28 that saw the Ukrainian president publicly berated and asked to leave the White House.
Zelenskyy said he will not be part of the US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah. Kyiv’s delegation will include Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
They will meet with a US delegation that is expected to include Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and national-security adviser Mike Waltz. Rubio departed for Saudi Arabia late on March 9.
"On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps," Zelenskyy said in a March 9 post on X. "Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively."
Kyiv is likely to propose a peace plan outlined by Zelenskyy that includes an air and sea truce as the first step.
Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News before leaving the United States that he had high hopes going into the talks.
"I think that we're going over there with an expectation that we're going to make substantial progress," he said, adding that he's "really hopeful."
"All the signs are very, very positive."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a key mediator between Washington and Kyiv, said he spoke with Trump on March 10 about the upcoming talks in Saudi. Starmer said he hoped the outcome would persuade Trump to restart intelligence sharing and weapons shipments to Ukraine
Zelenskyy is under intense pressure from Washington to quickly agree a cease-fire with Russia, despite no pledge of a US security guarantee. But so far, Moscow has not shown interest in a cessation of hostilities.
Russia has stepped up attacks on its neighbor and reported battlefield gains in recent days.
On March 9, Trump suggested that Ukraine may not be able to withstand the war against Russia even with US support.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump defended his decision to reduce support to Ukraine, saying: “Well, it may not survive anyway.”
Trump also repeated his claim that Zelenskyy was not “grateful” for US support but did describe the Ukrainian president as “smart” and “tough.”
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the recapture of several villages and towns on March 9 in its Kursk region -- -- as well as new settlements in eastern Ukraine -- with unconfirmed reports that thousands of Ukrainian troops risks being encircled by Russian forces.
Nonetheless, military analysts say that Russia -- which now occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine -- can not continue the scale of its current offensive much longer due to significant losses of troops and equipment.
