US holds separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives to discuss proposed ceasefire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. negotiators worked to hammer out details of a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine on Monday, meeting with representatives from Russia a day after holding separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Each side has accused the other of undermining efforts to reach a pause in the 3-year-old war.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries' leaders, but the parties have offered different views of what targets would be off-limits to attack.
While the White House said 'energy and infrastructure' would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to 'energy infrastructure.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would also like to see railways and ports protected.
Talks Monday are expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping.
U.S. and Russian representatives began meeting in the morning in the Saudi capital, Russia's state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies reported. The U.S. and Ukrainian teams met on Sunday in Riyadh, and more contacts were expected, though it was not clear when.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday the Russian military is fulfilling President Vladimir Putin's order to halt attacks on energy facilities for 30 days.
Peskov accused Ukraine of derailing the partial ceasefire with an attack on a gas metering station in Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine's military General Staff rejected Moscow's accusations and blamed the Russian military for shelling the station, a claim Peskov called 'absurd.'
Meanwhile, Russian troops launched a new barrage of drones, including decoys, into Ukraine overnight into Monday, according to Ukraine's air force, causing some damage and injuries.
Before the latest attack, Zelenskyy said in a televised statement Sunday evening that 'since March 11, a proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table, and these attacks could have already stopped. But it is Russia that continues all this.'
He added that Ukraine's partners — 'the U.S., Europe, and others around the world' — should step up pressure on Russia 'to stop this terror.'
Zelenskyy has emphasized that Ukraine is open to a full, 30-day ceasefire that Trump has proposed. But Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine's military mobilization — demands rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Speaking on 'Fox News Sunday,' Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expected 'some real progress' at the talks in Saudi Arabia, and that a pause in hostilities between both countries in the Black Sea would 'naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.'
Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said the delegation remained in Riyadh on Monday and expected to meet again with the Americans.
China rules out supplying peacekeeping forces
Asked about reports speculating that China might send peacekeepers to Ukraine to enforce any future peace deal, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded Monday with an unequivocal no.
'Let me stress that the report is completely false. China's position on the Ukraine crisis is clear and consistent,' Guo said at a daily briefing.
China has provided Russia with trade earnings from oil and other natural resources, along with diplomatic backing, but has not given any weapons or sent any personnel. China is, however, on close terms with North Korea, which has sent troops to fight alongside the Russian army.
Ukrainian railways hit by cyberattack
A 'massive targeted cyberattack' hit Ukrainian state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia on Sunday, the company wrote on Telegram, adding that the restoration of its systems was ongoing as of Monday morning.
The company said the attack did not affect train movements or schedules, but that the online booking system was currently unavailable.
'The railway continues to operate despite physical attacks on the infrastructure, and even the most vile cyberattacks cannot stop it,' the company wrote.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces claimed to have destroyed four military helicopters in Russia's Belgorod region with the use of American-supplied HIMARS rocket systems.
The special forces published drone footage of what they said was the attack on their Telegram page on Monday.
The group wrote that the strikes had occurred at a concealed 'jumping-off point' for Russian aircraft used in surprise attacks on Ukrainian forces.
Russian troops, meanwhile, fired 99 attack and decoy drones into Ukraine overnight Sunday, according to Ukraine's air force, of which 57 were shot down and 36 were lost from radar.
In the Kyiv region, one man suffered injuries overnight as a Russian drone struck a residential area.
'The man has superficial shrapnel wounds to his abdomen, chest, thighs, and head,' the acting head of the Kyiv region, Mykola Kalashnyk, wrote on Telegram on Monday.
In the Kharkiv region, a Russian drone struck a residential building in the village of Velyka Babka, injuring a 25-year-old man and a pregnant woman. Both were hospitalized, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram on Monday morning.
In Zaporizhzhia, Russian drones damaged several houses of local residents overnight with one elderly woman suffering light injuries, regional head Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
Originally Published: March 24, 2025 at 6:26 AM CDT
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