Ukraine launches hundreds of drones against Russia ahead of meeting with US

Ukraine launched an attack with hundreds of drones against Russian territory, many of them over Moscow, hours before a meeting Tuesday with the United States in Saudi Arabia at which it will present a plan for a partial truce in the conflict.

Russian forces shot down a total of 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Defense Ministry reported. This is the largest attack recorded against its territory since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

Of these, 91 were intercepted in the Moscow region, usually uninvolved in the hostilities of the war, whose mayor reported one person killed and three wounded by the shelling.

First high-level US-Ukraine meeting after Trump-Zelensky clash

The meeting in the coastal city of Jeddah is the first high-level meeting between the United States and Ukraine following the verbal clash at the White House of their presidents, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. Since then, Ukrainian authorities have been trying to regain the favor of their main ally, which is demanding concessions from Kiev to put an end to more than three years of war that began with Russia's invasion.

A senior Ukrainian official advanced that at the meeting they will present a proposal for an air and sea truce which was well received by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, already present in Jeddah.

Moscow claims 'massive attack' that left one dead and several wounded

But hours before the meeting, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed there was a "massive attack" by Ukrainian drones against the capital. Russian media sources shared images of residential buildings impacted by falling debris from drones, with broken windows and holes in the roofs.

The U.S. emissary for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said precisely that the meeting in Jeddah should serve to "define a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire." Since his arrival at the White House, the Republican president modified the U.S. position towards Ukraine and moved closer to Russia, accusing Zelensky of being a "dictator," ungrateful and not wanting peace.

Marco Rubio calls for concessions from both sides

After the televised disagreement between the two leaders in the Oval Office, the United States suspended its military aid to Ukraine and stopped sharing its intelligence information with the country. The situation seems to have calmed down in recent days, and Trump assured that Zelensky was now willing to negotiate, while threatening Moscow with more sanctions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also hailed the Ukrainian proposal for a truce "in the air" and "at sea," assuring that "it is the kind of concession that is needed to end the conflict." "We will not get a ceasefire and an end to this war if the two sides do not make concessions," he insisted.

In search of lost US military aid

Zelensky met Monday in Jeddah with Saudi leaders, but will leave contacts with the U.S. delegation, led by Rubio, in the hands of three of his senior officials. The secretary of state, who for now has no meeting scheduled with Zelensky, hoped that these talks would resolve the suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

But he also warned that the meeting was not going to serve "to draw lines on a map" in view of a final agreement, although he assured that he would convey the ideas discussed to the Russian side.

Saudi Arabia, 'a very important platform for diplomacy'

The appointment will consolidate the international influence of Saudi Arabia, a historic U.S. ally in the Middle East that already hosted a first meeting between the new Trump administration and Russian officials in mid-February.

Zelensky met Monday with its crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman, and assured that the Gulf kingdom brought "a very important platform for diplomacy." According to the Ukrainian president, the conversation between the two leaders touched on "possible mediation by Saudi Arabia for the release of military and civilian prisoners and the return of deported children" to Russia.

A meeting at a time of military predicament for Kiev

The talks in Jeddah come at a difficult time for Kiev on the war front, where its troops are outnumbered and outgunned. Over the past weekend, Russia claimed major advances in its partially Ukrainian-occupied Kursk region and also progress in Ukraine's Sumy region for the first time since 2022.

The Ukrainian army chief announced that they were going to "reinforce" their military contingent in Kursk, where the Russian Defense Ministry announced it had shot down 126 drones in the early hours on Tuesday morning.