Russia-Ukraine updates: US lifts aid pause as Kyiv backs 30-day ceasefire

Thank you for joining our coverage of the peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as high-level officials met to negotiate an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Read more about the proposed 30-day ceasefire here. And learn more about how the US’s temporary pause on aid and intelligence sharing affected Ukraine’s military here.

We hope to see you again soon.

Here are the latest developments:

• The United States and Ukraine have issued a joint statement, saying that Ukraine is ready to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposal, which now goes to Russia for approval.
• The joint statement also says the US will immediately resume security assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, following a pause precipitated by tensions between the two countries’ leaders, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• European leaders hailed the announcement as a “breakthrough” that could help bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to a close.
• Russia, however, has previously warned it would not accept a temporary ceasefire, saying it would allow Ukraine to rearm.
• Trump has confirmed he plans to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the deal: “It takes two to tango.”
• Ukrainian forces have engaged in skirmishes on the front lines with Russian forces since the beginning of the day, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian army. The governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said that two children were among six people killed in Russian strikes in the region.
• Overnight, Ukraine executed its largest drone attack deep into Russian territory, sending 91 drones to the Moscow area and more than 240 elsewhere. At least three people were killed.

The European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have both said the agreement reached today was a step in the right direction.

“This is a positive development that can be a step towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” they said in separate but identical posts on the social media platform X.

“The ball is now in Russia’s court,” their joint statement continued.

“The EU is ready to play its full part, together with its partners, in the upcoming peace negotiations.”

We welcome today’s news from Jeddah on the U.S.-Ukraine talks, including the proposal for a ceasefire agreement and the resumption of U.S. intelligence sharing and security assistance.

This is a positive development that can be a step towards a comprehensive, just and lasting…

— António Costa (@eucopresident) March 11, 2025

I think the feeling here has been that this pause was just that – a pause.

Earlier today, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that it’s time to take off the rose-coloured glasses when it comes to the United States freezing its supplies of military aid and intelligence sharing to the Ukrainians.

Clearly, his words are becoming even more true as we are seeing what has happened in Saudi Arabia.

I think it’s important to highlight that, so far, we have only heard from the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, who said that Russia does not rule out contact with US representatives in the next few days.

And we’ve heard also from a member of the State Duma, Deputy Viktor Sobolev, who said that this 30-day truce plan is unacceptable to Russia. He said that Vladimir Putin also shared his views.

Earlier this year, Vladimir Putin said that a temporary pause is not something Russia is interested in because it only enables Ukraine to rearm and regroup and that the fighting would likely resume once the 30-day period was up. And Russia is not interested in a temporary truce but a long-term ceasefire and a long-term settlement.

So, we are waiting to find out in the next few hours and days the official Russian position to this proposal, but it’s unlikely to change anything from the Kremlin’s perspective.

Since the suspension of that US military aid and certainly since the suspension of US military intelligence, there have been reports by commanders in this region actually, across the border in Kursk, that the Russians have capitalised on those resources being compromised.

So that is a huge release. But just to remind ourselves how we got there: Ukraine has been very much on the back foot in the last couple of weeks, obviously following that very public row in the Oval Office. Then came the suspension of military aid and access to intelligence and satellite imagery.

And as I say, the Ukrainians have really been feeling it, not just in this area but in various other areas along that 1,300-kilometre (807-mile) frontline areas like Pokrovsk, for example. So yes, there is a sense of relief there.

But of course, all eyes now are on Russia. We know already — certainly in the last three or four days, when that proposal was being aired by the Ukrainians for a partial ceasefire — that was completely rejected by the Russian side.

The Russians were saying that it was going to give the Ukrainians an opportunity to re-arm. Of course, the Ukrainians would say the same thing about the Russians. There is deep distrust here.

President Emmanuel Macron has said that European nations must “define credible security guarantees” for Ukraine during a meeting of military leaders in Paris.

“This is the moment when Europe must throw its full weight behind Ukraine, and itself,” Macron told the meeting, according to a statement from his office.

He added that security guarantees must be “credible and long-term, and should be accompanied by unfailing support for the Ukrainian army”.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the progress made between the US and Ukraine “warmly welcomed” and urged Russia to sign onto the proposed ceasefire deal.

“I warmly welcome the agreement … and congratulate President Trump and President Zelensky for this remarkable breakthrough. Russia must now agree to a ceasefire and an end to the fighting, too,” Starmer said in a statement.

The French president has said he welcomes the progress made between the US and Ukraine, particularly when it comes to a proposed 30-day ceasefire to halt the fighting against Russian forces.

“The ball is now clearly in Russia’s court,” Macron explained in a social media post. “France and its partners remain committed to a solid and lasting peace, supported by robust security guarantees for Ukraine.”

His message echoes an earlier statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who shifted pressure onto Russia to act: “The ball’s now in their court.”

The announcement from Pavlo Palisa, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, comes just hours after officials from the US and Ukraine said they had reached an agreement in Saudi Arabia.

The deal saw the immediate restoration of US aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. In exchange, Ukraine committed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal.

“I have confirmation that US military assistance has been resumed. The agreements are being implemented,” Palisa said in a post on Facebook.

Polish officials welcomed the news that the US would immediately restore the flow of aid to war-torn Ukraine, after the assistance was severed earlier this month.

“We are ready as Poland, with an airport, with a hub in Rzeszow, in Jasionka, to accept this aid. We maintain operational capability all the time, and we are fully prepared to resume American support,” Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told the broadcaster TVN24.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged an agreement to sign a deal that guarantees the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals — but he emphasised that mining rights were not the primary motivation for the meeting between officials in Jeddah.

“That was not the subject of our talks today,” Rubio told reporters after the negotiations concluded.

Negotiating access to the minerals, he explained, fell under the authority of other members of government.

“That is something that was negotiated through our treasury and his counterpart on the Ukrainian side,” Rubio said.

“And so the president and you see that expressed: Both presidents will instruct the appropriate members of our governments to bring the finality the signature of the deal and the signature of this agreement.”

A joint statement released in advance of Rubio’s comments said the deal on rare earths minerals would “expand Ukraine’s economy” and “offset the cost of American assistance” to Ukraine. Critics, however, have expressed concern that such a deal might be exploitative and deliver more financial gain to the US than was spent in aid.

While inspecting Tesla products outside the White House with his adviser Elon Musk, US President Trump weighed in on the negotiations that unfolded today in Jeddah.

He appeared willing to put his friction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy behind him: The two leaders had a tense exchange in the Oval Office on February 28.

“I think it’s a big difference between the last visit you saw at the Oval Office,” Trump said as he walked past Tesla cars. He told reporters Zelenskyy would be invited back to the White House in future.

He did, however, acknowledge that Russia may not agree to the ceasefire deal hammered out between the US and Ukraine.

“I think the ceasefire is very important if we can get Russia to do it. That’ll be great. If we can’t, we just keep going on, and people are gonna get killed. Lots of people,” Trump said.

The RIA state news agency has reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry said contact with the US is imminent, in the wake of a possible deal negotiated in Saudi Arabia.

It was Russia’s first statement since the US and Ukraine announced they had agreed to a 30-day ceasefire agreement.

Both Washington and the US have said it is now up to Russia to agree to the deal.

The statement comes after US media reported that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow later this week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland has praised the recent talks between the US and Ukraine in a social media post.

“It seems like the Americans and Ukrainians have taken an important step towards peace,” he said. “And Europe stands ready to help reach a just and lasting peace.”

The US president has responded to the agreement reached in Jeddah today, reiterating that the ball was now in Russia’s court.

“Now, we have to go to Russia,” Trump said. “Hopefully, President Putin will agree to that also.”

“And we can get this show on the road.”

Trump also revealed he would be among the officials reaching out to Russia, affirming he would try to make contact this week.

“I’ll talk to Vladimir Putin,” he said. “It takes two to tango, as they say.”

Speaking with reporters in Saudi Arabia, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has credited Trump with having “moved the entire global conversation” around the war.

“We’ve gone from if the war is going to end to how the war is going to end,” said Waltz. “ This was an important first step, and that was under President Trump’s leadership.”

Here is the full joint statement released by US and Ukrainian officials:

Today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — under the gracious hospitality of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the United States and Ukraine took important steps toward restoring durable peace for Ukraine.

Representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defense of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace.

The Ukrainian delegation reiterated the Ukrainian people’s strong gratitude to President Trump, the US Congress, and the people of the United States for making possible meaningful progress toward peace.

Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation.

The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace. The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.

The delegations also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the above-mentioned ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.

Both delegations agreed to name their negotiating teams and immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine’s long-term security.

The United States committed to discussing these specific proposals with representatives from Russia. The Ukrainian delegation reiterated that European partners shall be involved in the peace process.

Lastly, both countries’ presidents agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.

The joint drills took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all the crude oil traded worldwide passes.

It was the fifth time the three countries have conducted the drills, although China and Russia do not regularly patrol the waters.

The exercises underscore the close relationship between Russia and its ally Iran, which supplies the bomb-carrying drones it uses in its war on Ukraine.

Amid recent contacts between Moscow and Washington, Russia has also offered to mediate new nuclear talks between Iran and the US. Tehran has so far rejected the premise of the talks, while Trump has threatened military action if new negotiations do not begin.