Ukrainian and US representatives met Sunday ahead of the talks. Ukraine has previously reaffirmed its willingness to agree to a 30-day ceasefire and says it wants to clarify the technical details.

The initial focus will be on a ceasefire limited to energy facilities, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizing that civilian infrastructure should be included.

After a telephone call between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Moscow emphasized that a ceasefire for air strikes against energy facilities was already in effect on the Russian side. Putin had reportedly ordered this after a conversation last Tuesday.

However, attacks on alleged military targets in Ukraine with drones and glide bombs continue. Russia says that further talks — on its own terms — are needed to end these strikes.

Moscow expects the talks in Riyadh to also specifically address an initiative for safe navigation in the Black Sea, and a US proposal for a ceasefire for the waters is being discussed.

Russia had terminated an earlier agreement brokered by Turkey, which was intended to enable the safe transport of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. Ukraine wants security guarantees, especially after the strategically important port of Odesa has been repeatedly shelled by the Russians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of prolonging the war after representatives from Kyiv and Washington gathered in Saudi Arabia.

“Russia is the only one dragging this war out,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video message after the latest round of negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

“Since March 11, a proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table — and these attacks could have already stopped. But it is Russia that continues all this,” he said, referring to a series of Russian drone attacks in recent days. 

Kyiv agreed earlier this month to a 30-day ceasefire plan proposed by the United States if Moscow also complied. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has set several preconditions, including a demand that the West stop all military aid to Kyiv.

“Without pressure on Russia, those in Moscow will continue to show contempt for real diplomacy and keep destroying lives,” Zelenskyy said. 

The Ukrainian air force has said it shot down 57 drones out of 99 launched by Russia overnight into Monday.

Another 36 imitator drones did not reach their targets, the air force said, without specifying what happened to the remaining six drones.

Meanwhile. Russia’s air defense units said they had intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry said units had downed 12 drones over the border Kursk region and another 12 over the Rostov region. 

Another four were destroyed over Crimea, the Krasnodar region and the waters of the Sea of Azov, the ministry added.

On Sunday, seven people were killed in a Russian drone barrage on Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. Authorities said a five-year-old child was among those killed.

Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The majority were intercepted.

Today, we are reporting on US and Russian delegations sitting down in Saudi Arabia for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine. The White House has said one of its preliminary aims is to reach a ceasefire in the Black Sea.

The talks come after a Russian drone barrage targeted several cities including Kyiv killed seven people on Sunday.