US and Russian officials are holding talks at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AP
US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. While the talks were ongoing, Russian missile strikes injured dozens of civilians in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, including several children. Despite the diplomatic push, the violence on the ground continues.
The meeting took place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. The US delegation was led by real estate mogul-turned-diplomat Steve Witkoff. The Russian side included senior diplomat Grigory Karasin and former spy chief Sergey Beseda. The main topic was the Black Sea Initiative, a previous deal that allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, claiming obstacles to its own food exports. Now, the US hopes to negotiate a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea that could lead to broader peace talks.
The US delegation aims for a 30-day truce as a first step. However, differences between Russia, Ukraine, and the US remain significant. Moscow insists that a ceasefire is only possible if Ukraine agrees not to use it to regroup its forces. Russia has also demanded that Ukraine abandon its NATO membership ambitions.
As the diplomatic efforts unfolded, Russia launched a deadly missile strike on Sumy. At least 88 people were injured, including 17 children and a pregnant woman. The attack hit residential areas, damaging homes, hospitals, and schools. Sumy’s acting mayor, Artem Kobzar, described the scene as devastating, with shattered buildings and wounded civilians.
The conflict’s toll continues to rise. Over the last 24 hours, Russian attacks killed at least four Ukrainian civilians. Meanwhile, Ukraine retaliated by targeting a gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region, near their shared border. Both sides blamed each other for the incident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently offered to temporarily stop attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. However, Russia has continued to hit civilian areas. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky placed the responsibility for ending the war on Putin, stating, “The one who brought this war must take it away.”
Despite the ongoing talks, skepticism remains high. US envoy Witkoff faced criticism for suggesting that regions occupied by Russia—Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk—were “Russian-speaking” and implied they might rightfully belong to Russia. His remarks sparked concerns in Ukraine and among its allies, as the referendums Russia held in those areas in 2022 were widely dismissed as illegitimate.
While no major breakthroughs emerged from the meeting, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov described the earlier US-Ukraine discussions as “productive and focused.” He confirmed plans for another meeting with the US delegation in Saudi Arabia.
As the conflict drags on, hopes for a ceasefire remain dim. The violence on the ground shows no sign of slowing, and the gap between diplomatic negotiations and battlefield realities continues to grow.
