Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv praises ‘constructive’ US peace talks in Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has a vital role this week, as our chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes in an analysis:

It seems Mr Witkoff is now being entrusted by the Trump administration with working that “magic” for Russia and Ukraine.

But Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – and America’s apparent intentions for a ceasefire there – are so completely different to the devastating bombardment of Gaza that comparisons are unhelpful and reductive. So is the timeline.

Ukrainian officials and civilians, meanwhile, tell me they fear being forced by the US to permanently cede land in exchange for what would only be a temporary pause, during which Moscow would not only regroup and rearm before launching another invasion but also would change the demographics in occupied territory to create a new de facto reality.

A recent study by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found that 87 per cent of Ukrainians believe Russia has every intention of resuming fighting down the line.

No one knows what Mr Witkoff’s exact remit is for this reported Moscow meet, or even if it will for sure go ahead. But the indication is Mr Trump has earmarked him as the get-the-job man and the main channel of communication with Mr Putin because the US president wants a deal, no matter the cost, fast.

Despite being Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff is set this week to embark on his second trip to Moscow in a month to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin: a man Mr Witkoff has described as a new friend.

As our chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes, Mr Witkoff’s tentative schedule – juggling talks related to two wars – is fraught, if media reports are correct:

Witkoff is set to meet the Emirati president in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the prime minister of Qatar in Doha on Wednesday before possibly president Putin himself in the Russian capital immediately after that.

The real estate investor, lifelong friend and golfing partner of president Trump, has emerged as a wildcard – and yet successful – negotiator for the Trump administration.

He is, by all accounts, outranked by the secretary of state, and his area of focus is supposed to be limited to the Middle East – but he has the ear and respect of the president, perhaps because of their four-decade-long history together.

In conversations with people close to the negotiations on multiple sides of the war in Gaza, they all credited Mr Witkoff with shaking up painfully drawn-out negotiations and getting the much-needed ceasefire deal over the line.

The man leading Ukraine’s peace delegation has struck a conciliatory tone at today’s meeting with the Americans in Saudi Arabia.

It bears all the hallmarks of careful UK-Ukraine planning.

The last time a serious meeting took place between the US and Ukraine, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was berated in the White House and in front of cameras by Donald Trump.

Why? Apparently for talking about security guarantees. The US, it has been reported, wasn’t ready to talk about this, no matter how vital it is to Ukraine. Mr Trump wanted to discuss a minerals deal first, one that was left unsigned.

The fallout kicked Europe into action. Sir Keir Starmer emerged as an unlikely bridge between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.

The next phase became about ensuring Ukraine and the US mended ties. Indeed, Sir Keir sent his national security advisor, Jonathan Powell, to Kyiv over the weekend to advise the Ukrainians on how to repair those ties.

One of the people he met was Andriy Yermak, the head of Mr Zelensky’s office and the lead for today’s Ukraine peace delegation. Mr Yermak said the pair “exchanged views on key issues on the path to achieving peace”.

Mykhailo Podolyak, Mr Yermak’s top advisor, also told The Independent that the focus in Kyiv was being “pragmatic” despite emotions running high after the White House clash.

So, it is telling that when Mr Yermak was asked this morning about security guarantees, he acknowledged they were “very important” but added they were second to actually “starting the process” of talks with the US.

“We think it’s most important to discuss to start this process,” he said. “We are very open. We want to have very constructive, deep talks with our friends and partners.”

Ukraine may have increased its long-range attacks on the Russian capital of Moscow but civilian casualties remain minimal.

There is only one other recorded death from a Ukrainian strike, from back in September last year.

A drone struck a residential building in the Ramenskoye district in southeast Moscow, killing a 46-year-old woman and injuring three others.

There have been at least five Ukrainian aerial attacks aimed at the Moscow region in the past three years, including one in August 2023, three in 2024 and last night’s assault.

Nearly 90 per cent of Ukrainians believe that Russia intends to expand its war in Ukraine beyond the current areas of combat.

A study published by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) has found that 87 per cent of Ukrainians, consistent across all regions, believe Moscow will not stop at the current front line.

The survey was published as US president Donald Trump insists that Vladimir Putin will honour his request to freeze the frontline.

The survey was conducted between 14 February and 4 March with 1,029 respondents aged 18 and older, interviewed by telephone across all Ukrainian government-controlled regions.

The number of people who have been killed as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region has risen to three, local officials have claimed.

All three deaths happened as a result of a strike on a parking lot in Domodedovo, in the southern suburbs of Moscow.