The U.S. and Ukraine said Kyiv would accept a 30-day ceasefire with Russia after talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with Washington pledging to immediately lift a freeze on intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine.
“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 U.S. and Ukraine said in a joint statement released by the State Department. “The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”
The agreement came after more than eight hours of negotiations between Ukrainian officials and a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
The statement said the U.S. “will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.” Both were frozen in the wake of an explosive meeting between Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump at the White House on Feb. 28.
The now-unfrozen military aid comes from roughly $3.8 billion in equipment that has already approved, including air defense systems, HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery and support for Ukrainian fighter jets. Ukraine has been buoyed by the U.S. and other Western allies in its fight against Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, and the move to cut off aid left Kyiv at a disadvantage and European allies scrambling.
Whether Russia will support a ceasefire remains to be seen. Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, will be traveling to the country in the coming days, according to a person familiar with the planning. Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than three hours in February.
