U.S., Ukraine and Russia Continue Ceasefire Talks in Riyadh/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Ceasefire talks between U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have entered a third day in Riyadh, focusing on halting attacks and ensuring safe Black Sea shipping. Disagreements over ceasefire terms persist despite progress. Meanwhile, missile attacks continue across Ukraine, worsening civilian casualties.
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks Quick Looks
- U.S., Russia, and Ukraine engaged in separate meetings in Riyadh.
- Ceasefire negotiations center on halting infrastructure attacks and securing shipping.
- No direct Russia-Ukraine talks, but both agree in principle on 30-day ceasefire.
- Dispute continues over what targets are included in potential truce.
- U.S. prioritizes full infrastructure protection; Russia narrows scope to energy facilities.
- Russian FM Lavrov says grain deal revival “acceptable in some form.”
- Ukraine supports ceasefire if it pressures Russia to end the war.
- Russia and U.S. may continue technical-level negotiations, no timeline confirmed.
- Over 100 injured in missile strike on Ukrainian city Sumy.
- Overnight, Russia launched over 130 drones and a ballistic missile across Ukraine.
U.S., Ukraine and Russia Continue Ceasefire Talks in Riyadh
Deep Look
As war continues to ravage Ukraine, a new round of diplomatic efforts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia entered its third day Tuesday, as U.S. officials resumed talks with Ukrainian counterparts amid parallel discussions between U.S. and Russian representatives. Though the meetings have not brought Ukrainian and Russian negotiators into the same room, they reflect an intensifying effort to secure a partial ceasefire and reduce the war’s immediate humanitarian toll.
According to officials, a 30-day ceasefire agreement was tentatively accepted in principle last week by both Kyiv and Moscow. Yet negotiations remain stalled over disagreements about the scope of the proposed truce — particularly which targets would be shielded from attack.
While the White House envisions a halt in strikes on all “energy and infrastructure,” Russian officials insist that any ceasefire would apply only to “energy infrastructure.” Despite these conflicting definitions, the parties reportedly found some mutual ground on efforts to reopen safe commercial shipping routes through the Black Sea.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Channel One on Tuesday that Black Sea shipping was the main focus of discussions with U.S. officials. Lavrov said Moscow was open to resuming a version of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a 2022 U.N.-brokered agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grain to vulnerable countries before Russia withdrew from the deal in mid-2023.
“We are prepared to resume this in a form acceptable to everyone,” Lavrov said, signaling a potential breakthrough for global food security.
Ukrainian presidential advisor Serhii Leshchenko confirmed to the Associated Press that Ukrainian ports such as Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson were specifically discussed in the Riyadh meetings. Leshchenko added that Ukrainian officials would brief President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after additional talks with the U.S. delegation on Tuesday.
“Ukraine is ready to support initiatives that will make diplomacy a means of pressure to compel Russia to end the war,” he said.
Though no final agreement has been announced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated on Tuesday that the talks are under review in both capitals and that further dialogue is likely. However, he emphasized that no direct talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. are currently planned.
“These are technical negotiations, negotiations with immersion in details,” Peskov told reporters. He added that while a phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin is not on the schedule, one could be arranged quickly if needed.
Grigory Karasin, a senior Russian lawmaker who participated in Monday’s U.S.-Russia talks, described them as “very interesting, difficult, but quite constructive.” He hinted at ongoing expert-level talks and said that both Washington and Moscow recognize the need for continued dialogue, despite persistent differences over Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis inside Ukraine continues to worsen. In Sumy, a city near the Russian border, the number of injured from a Russian missile strike on Monday has climbed to 101 people, including 23 children. The strike damaged residential buildings and forced the evacuation of a school, according to the regional administration.
The attacks on Sumy are part of a broader uptick in Russian offensive activity. Ukraine’s air force reported Tuesday that Russia had launched one ballistic missile and 139 long-range drones and decoys across seven regions overnight.
In Poltava, two people were injured after drone debris hit a warehouse, while another two were wounded outside the city of Zaporizhzhia. One man was reported injured in the southern city of Kherson following a separate drone attack.
Despite the diplomatic momentum in Riyadh, on-the-ground realities continue to highlight the urgency of a ceasefire. The challenge lies not only in brokering a pause in hostilities but in bridging political divides and competing definitions of what such a ceasefire entails.
Still, as U.S. and Russian delegations assess the outcomes of the past three days of meetings, there is cautious optimism that dialogue — even indirect — could help open the door to broader peace negotiations.
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