Ukraine set for two days of high-stakes peace talks in Saudi Arabia

The Ukrainian president will hold one-on-one talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday with the country's crown prince.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mohammed bin Salman's meeting comes 24 hours before crucial talks between a Ukrainian and U.S. delegation.

"On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps," said Zelenskyy, ahead of the trip.

The Ukrainian leader will be travelling on Monday with a delegation that will hold face-to-face meetings with high-level United States officials, in the first such talks since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power in Washington DC in January.

The Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, defense secretary Rustan Umerov, and two officials from the office of the president will participate on behalf of Kyiv.

They are expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and the national security adviser Mike Waltz.

The Ukrainian officials are set to lay out Kyiv's plan for peace, and discuss a possible truce and a ceasefire.

They are also expected to explain possible concessions Ukraine may be willing to make to secure peace.

Rubio, Witkoff and Waltz were all present in February in Saudi Arabia for the first round of talks with their Russian counterparts, including foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

In preparation for the talks, Rubio had a call on March 7 with his Ukrainian counterpart Sybiha, in which he underscored Trump's stated goal of ending the conflict quickly, and emphasized that "all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace".

The U.S. delegation is likely also to want to see progress on the proposed minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine, which was paused in the aftermath of the disastrous White House meeting between Trump, Vice-President J.D. Vance, and Zelenskyy on February 28.

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said "we look forward to hearing more positive movement that will hopefully ultimately end this brutal war and bloodshed".

The talks come after some of the deadliest Russian attacks on Ukraine this year.

At least 22 people have been killed in the last two days, including 11 in the town of Dobropilla in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Speaking on the eve of his meeting with the Saudi crown prince, Zelenskyy said Russia's armed forces launched nearly 1,200 aerial bombs, nearly 870 attack drones, and more than 80 missiles against Ukraine in the last seven days.