{"id":129292,"date":"2025-03-09T10:27:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T10:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-zelenskyy-fully-committed-to-us-talks-in-saudi-after-trumps-russia-comments-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-03-09T10:27:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T10:27:52","slug":"ukraine-war-live-zelenskyy-fully-committed-to-us-talks-in-saudi-after-trumps-russia-comments-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-live-zelenskyy-fully-committed-to-us-talks-in-saudi-after-trumps-russia-comments-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy \u2018fully committed\u2019 to US talks in Saudi after Trump\u2019s Russia comments – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian president backs negotiations, despite Trump\u2019s remarks he finds Russia \u2018easier\u2019, and calls for more sanctions after deadly missile attack
Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> said Ukraine<\/strong> is \u201cfully committed\u201d to having a constructive dialogue with US<\/strong> representatives in Saudi Arabia<\/strong> next week, even as Donald Trump<\/strong> said he found it \u201ceasier\u201d to deal with <\/a>Russia<\/a><\/strong> than with Ukraine in efforts to end the war.
\u201cRealistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,\u201d 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<\/strong> on Monday, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the US team.
\u201cOn our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,\u201d he said.
But the Ukrainian president also called for sanctions on Russia to be increased after a devastating attack on Saturday<\/a>. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia<\/strong> in the eastern Donetsk region<\/strong>, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more.
\u201cSuch strikes show that Russia\u2019s objectives have not changed,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook. \u201cTherefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia<\/a>. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse.\u201d
In other developments:
Three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv<\/strong>, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said. Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine\u2019s air force said.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Saturday that appeasement towards Russia was leading to more tragedy in Ukraine<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cThis is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,\u201d Tusk wrote on X. \u201cMore bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.\u201d
The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina in its Kursk region. <\/strong>According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a \u201cbreach\u201d in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv\u2019s control. An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to \u201cstabilise the situation\u201d but the Russian troops had \u201ccompletely cut off the supply lines\u201d.
Moscow\u2019s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems had destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the previous night<\/strong>. A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia\u2019s 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\u2019s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his country would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.<\/strong> The Australian leader spoke on Saturday with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, who has joined France in trying to rally a \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d to protect any ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. \u201cBoth of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early \u2013 you can\u2019t have peacekeeping forces without having peace,\u201d Albanese told a news conference. \u201cI certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine.\u201d Australia will send a senior representative to a chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future backing for Ukraine, Albanese said.
Joint naval drills organised annually between Iran<\/strong>, Russia<\/strong> and China<\/strong> will start on Monday in the south-eastern Iranian port of Chabahar<\/strong>, Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s air defences shot down 73 of 119 drones launched by Russia<\/strong> in an overnight attack on Sunday, the air force said.
It said that 37 drones were \u201clost\u201d, in reference to the military\u2019s use of electronic warfare to redirect them, reports Reuters.
The military said damage was recorded in six Ukrainian regions but provided no immediate details.
France<\/strong> will use interest from Russian<\/strong> assets to fund another \u20ac195m ($211m) in arms for Ukraine<\/strong>, armed forces minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu<\/strong> said a newspaper interview, reports Reuters.
France also plans to hand over some of its older armoured fighting vehicles, such as its AMX-10RC and personnel carriers, Lecournu told La Tribune weekend newspaper.
\u201cThanks to interest from frozen Russian assets, we will also tap new funds worth \u20ac195m,\u201d Lecournu said, adding that it would be used for 155-mm artillery shells and glide bombs for Mirage 2000 fighter jets France has given Ukraine.
The G7<\/strong> powers agreed last year to provide Ukraine with $50bn via a series of bilateral loans that Kyiv<\/strong> could pay off using windfall profits from $300bn of frozen Russian state assets.
Russia<\/strong> on Sunday claimed the capture of a village in Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s Sumy region<\/strong> after mounting a cross-border offensive while battling Ukrainian troops in its Kursk region<\/strong>.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Russia\u2019s defence ministry said in a briefing that its forces had \u201cliberated\u201d the small village of Novenke<\/strong> in Sumy region near the border with Kursk region.
The Guardian has been unable to independently verify the report.
A Ukrainian<\/strong> drone hit an industrial facility overnight in Russia<\/strong>\u2019s Volga river region<\/strong> of Chuvashia<\/strong>, 1,300km (800 miles) from the border with Ukraine<\/a>, the regional governor said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The strike \u2013 one of the deepest yet into Russia<\/a> by a Ukrainian drone \u2013 caused no casualties, Chuvashia governor Oleg Nikolayev<\/strong> said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Emergency services were at the scene at the Kombinat Burevestnik facility<\/strong> in the region\u2019s capital, Cheboksaray<\/strong>, Nikolayev added. He provided no further details about the strike and the extent of any damage was unclear.
Russian authorities said earlier that air defence units had destroyed 88 Ukrainian drones overnight, with no injuries or other damage reported. Russia\u2019s defence ministry said 52 of the drones were destroyed over the border Belgorod region<\/strong>, while 13 were over the Lipetsk region<\/strong> and nine were over the Rostov region<\/strong>, both in Russia\u2019s south-west. The rest of the Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia\u2019s Voronezh<\/strong>, Astrakhan<\/strong>, Krasnodar<\/strong>, Ryazan<\/strong> and Kursk<\/strong> regions, the ministry said.
Russia\u2019s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia<\/strong> said on Telegram that the airports of Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod<\/strong> and Kazan<\/strong> had been closed for several hours overnight to ensure air safety.
Unofficial Russian news Telegram channels said the Ukrainian attacks on Ryazan and Lipetsk had targeted local oil refineries, reports Reuters.
Ukrainian Lt Andriy Kovalenko<\/strong>, who heads the Centre for Countering Disinformation<\/strong>, part of the National Security and Defence Council<\/strong>, said, without providing evidence or saying directly that Ukrainian drones were involved, the Novolipetsk Metallurgical plant<\/strong> in Lipetsk was under attack. Reuters could not independently verify the reports on what was targeted in the attacks.
Russia<\/strong> was storming the town of Sudzha<\/strong> on Sunday after special forces used a gas pipeline to surprise Ukrainian<\/strong> units as part of a major offensive to eject Ukrainian soldiers from the western Russian<\/strong> region of Kursk<\/strong>, pro-Russian war bloggers said, according to Reuters.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers seized about 1,300 square km of Russia\u2019s Kursk region in August last year in what Kyiv<\/strong> said was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift military forces from eastern Ukraine<\/a>.
Yuri Podolyaka<\/strong>, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said Russian special forces had walked about 15km along the inside of a major gas pipeline and some had spent several days in the pipe before surprising Ukrainian forces from the rear near Sudzha.
Sudzha is the home of major gas transfer and measuring stations on a pipeline that used to carry Russian natural gas into the Ukrainian gas transmission system for onward transportation to Europe<\/strong>.
Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors<\/strong> said a major battle was under way for Sudzha and that Russian forces had surprised Ukrainian soldiers by entering the town via a major gas pipeline, reports Reuters.
Russian Telegram channels showed pictures of special forces in gas masks and lights, some using colourful Russian curses, along the inside of what looked like a large pipe. Reuters was unable to verify the reports immediately.
\u201cFighting continued throughout the night in Sudzha,\u201d said Podolyaka. \u201cThe fighting did not stop.\u201d
Another war blogger, Yuri Kotenok<\/strong>, said that Ukrainian forces have been moving equipment away from Sudzha, closer to the border.
\u201cAt the moment, our units are attacking in the north-eastern part of Sudzha and fighting in the area of Lomonosov Street and the industrial zone of Sudzha,\u201d Kotenok said.
In recent weeks and months, Russian forces have pushed Ukrainian forces back across the Kursk front, placing tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops in danger of being encircled.
There was an audible gasp in the room at the Council on Foreign Relations<\/strong> as Keith Kellogg<\/strong>, the White House<\/strong>\u2019s special envoy for Ukraine<\/strong> and Russia<\/strong>, characterised the <\/a>US<\/a><\/strong> decision to cut off intelligence sharing and military aid to <\/a>Kyiv<\/a><\/strong> as like beating a farm animal with a piece of wood.
\u201cVery candidly, they brought it on themselves, the Ukrainians,\u201d Kellogg said as the veteran diplomats, academics, and journalists in the room recoiled in surprise. Several held their hands in their faces. \u201cI think the best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou got their attention, and it\u2019s very significant, obviously, because of the support that we give.\u201d
The collapse in US-Ukraine relations since the White House summit between <\/a>Trump<\/a><\/strong> and <\/a>Zelenskyy<\/a><\/strong> has been precipitous. Those around Trump viewed as the strongest supporters of Ukraine \u2013 including secretary of state <\/a>Marco Rubio<\/a><\/strong>, national security adviser Mike Waltz<\/strong>, and Kellogg \u2013 have become vocal sceptics of continued US support or been sidelined entirely.
\u201cWe know that [the Maga wing] are just waiting for something they can use to pounce,\u201d said a former senior US diplomat. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s where you get the posturing by Rubio, Kellogg and also Waltz, which disturbs people who understand America\u2019s interest in preventing a Putin win in Ukraine<\/a>.\u201d
It has been matched by a rise in the people around Trump who hold vocally Eurosceptic views: Elon Musk<\/strong>, Tucker Carlson<\/a><\/strong>, and JD Vance<\/a><\/strong>, the vice-president who seized his moment in the Oval Office<\/strong> and provoked a greater conflict between Trump and Zelenskyy.
Vance has made several key interventions meant to sow divisions with Europe<\/a>. He appears to have planned ahead of time. His team briefed European<\/strong> media before he spoke up during Trump\u2019s meeting with Keir Starmer<\/strong> to complain about \u201cinfringements on free speech\u201d in the UK<\/strong>. And when Zelenskyy disregarded advice from Kellogg, Republican senators, and others, not to clash with Trump during the White House meeting, Vance once again poured petrol on the fire.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> said Ukraine<\/strong> is \u201cfully committed\u201d to having a constructive dialogue with US<\/strong> representatives in Saudi Arabia<\/strong> next week, even as Donald Trump<\/strong> said he found it \u201ceasier\u201d to deal with <\/a>Russia<\/a><\/strong> than with Ukraine in efforts to end the war.
\u201cRealistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,\u201d 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<\/strong> on Monday, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the US team.
\u201cOn our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,\u201d he said.
But the Ukrainian president also called for sanctions on Russia to be increased after a devastating attack on Saturday<\/a>. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia<\/strong> in the eastern Donetsk region<\/strong>, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more.
\u201cSuch strikes show that Russia\u2019s objectives have not changed,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook. \u201cTherefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia<\/a>. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse.\u201d
In other developments:
Three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv<\/strong>, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said. Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine\u2019s air force said.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Saturday that appeasement towards Russia was leading to more tragedy in Ukraine<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cThis is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,\u201d Tusk wrote on X. \u201cMore bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.\u201d
The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina in its Kursk region. <\/strong>According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a \u201cbreach\u201d in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv\u2019s control. An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to \u201cstabilise the situation\u201d but the Russian troops had \u201ccompletely cut off the supply lines\u201d.
Moscow\u2019s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems had destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the previous night<\/strong>. A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia\u2019s 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\u2019s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his country would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.<\/strong> The Australian leader spoke on Saturday with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, who has joined France in trying to rally a \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d to protect any ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. \u201cBoth of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early \u2013 you can\u2019t have peacekeeping forces without having peace,\u201d Albanese told a news conference. \u201cI certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine.\u201d Australia will send a senior representative to a chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future backing for Ukraine, Albanese said.<\/p>\n

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Ukrainian president backs negotiations, despite Trump\u2019s remarks he finds Russia \u2018easier\u2019, and calls for more sanctions after deadly missile attack Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is \u201cfully committed\u201d to having a constructive dialogue with US representatives in Saudi Arabia next week, even as Donald Trump said he found it \u201ceasier\u201d to deal with Russia than with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}