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US Holds Separate Russia, Ukraine Talks03/25 06:09
U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceasefire in the 3-year-old
war in Ukraine on Monday, meeting representatives from Russia one day after
holding separate talks with a team from Kyiv.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed
partial ceasefire in the 3-year-old war in Ukraine on Monday, meeting
representatives from Russia one day after holding separate talks with a team
from Kyiv.
It has been a struggle to reach even a limited, 30-day ceasefire -- which
Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week -- with both sides continuing
to attack each other with drones and missiles.
One major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike, even
after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries' leaders, because
the parties disagree.
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 infrastructure like railways and ports protected.
Talks Monday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were 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. Russian state media reported late
Monday local time that the talks had ended.
In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump said territorial
lines and the potential for U.S. ownership of a key nuclear power plant in
southern Ukraine have been part of the talks.
Last week, Trump floated the idea of the U.S. taking control of the
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The six-reactor facility -- one of the
world's largest -- was seized by Russia early in the war.
"Some people are saying the United States should own the power plant -- work
it that way because we have the expertise" to get the plant operating, Trump
said. "Something like that would be fine with me."
Since falling under Russian control, the plant's conditions have
deteriorated. While its reactors have been shut down for years, they still
require power and staff to maintain cooling systems and safety features. The
facility is connected to Ukraine's energy grid without producing electricity.
U.S. and Russian representatives met in the morning in Riyadh, Russia's
state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies reported. The U.S. and Ukrainian teams
met Sunday.
Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said the
delegation remained in Riyadh on Monday and expected to meet again with the
Americans. In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said representatives from
Ukraine and the U.S. will meet again, although he did not specify when.
Grigory Karasin, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian
parliament's upper house and a participant in Monday's talks, told the Interfax
news agency the negotiations were going on in a "creative way" and that the
U.S. and Russian delegations "understand each other's views."
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine continued to launch attacks across their
borders.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday a Ukrainian drone attacked an oil
pumping station in southern Russia that serves a pipeline carrying Kazakhstan's
Caspian Sea oil to the Russian port of Novorossiisk for export. It said the
drone was downed before it could reach the pumping station.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the Russian military has been
fulfilling President Vladimir Putin's order to halt attacks on energy
facilities for 30 days. He has accused Ukraine of derailing the partial
ceasefire with attacks on Russia's energy facilities, including 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."
Zelenskyy said 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 increase pressure on Russia "to stop this terror."
Zelenskyy has emphasized that Ukraine is open to Trump's proposal of a full,
30-day ceasefire. 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 talks and that a pause in hostilities by both
countries in the Black Sea would "naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting
ceasefire."
China rules out supplying peacekeeping forces
Asked about reports speculating that China might send peacekeepers to
Ukraine to enforce any 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 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 it was
working to restore its systems on Monday. The company said the attack did not
affect train movements or schedules but disrupted its online booking system.
"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 Monday it destroyed
four military helicopters in Russia's Belgorod region with the use of
U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems. It published drone footage on its Telegram
page of what it said was the attack.
The strikes occurred at a concealed "jumping-off point" for Russian aircraft
used in surprise attacks on Ukrainian forces, the group said.
A Russian missile struck the northern city of Sumy, across the border from
Russia's Kursk region, hitting residential buildings and a school, said
regional head Volodymyr Artiukh. Children at the school were being evacuated at
the time, and all were safe, he added.
But the regional prosecutor's office said 65 people were injured, including
14 children.
Earlier, Russia fired 99 attack and decoy drones into Ukraine overnight,
according to Ukraine's air force, of which 57 were shot down.
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