Under US pressure, Zelenskyy says ‘fully committed’ to peace talks in Saudi Arabia

The Guardian, March 9, 2025 : Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with US representatives in Saudi Arabia next week, even as Donald Trump said he found it “easier” to deal with Russia than with Ukraine in efforts to end the war.

“Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,” the Ukrainian president said on X ahead of his trip to Saudi Arabia next week.

Zelenskyy said that after his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the US team.

“On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,” he said.

But the Ukrainian president also called for sanctions on Russia to be increased after a devastating attack on Saturday. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more.

“Such strikes show that Russia’s objectives have not changed,” Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook. “Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse.”

In other developments:

Three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said. Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine’s air force said.

The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Saturday that appeasement towards Russia was leading to more tragedy in Ukraine. “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Tusk wrote on X. “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”

The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina in its Kursk region. According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control. An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to “stabilise the situation” but the Russian troops had “completely cut off the supply lines”.

Moscow’s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems had destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the previous night. A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery and falling debris caused damage to a reservoir, the governor of the north-western Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said. A civilian was injured by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the Ukraine border, the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram.

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his country would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The Australian leader spoke on Saturday with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, who has joined France in trying to rally a “coalition of the willing” to protect any ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. “Both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early – you can’t have peacekeeping forces without having peace,” Albanese told a news conference. “I certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine.” Australia will send a senior representative to a chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future backing for Ukraine, Albanese said.