Zelenskyy urges pressure on Russia as US-Ukraine talks begin

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called on Ukraine’s allies to apply new pressure on Moscow to stop the war.

The call came after nearly 150 Russian drones targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least seven people.

“New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to put an end to these strikes and this war,”

“New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to put an end to these strikes and this war,” Zelenskyy posted on social media ahead of talks on a partial ceasefire.

Originally scheduled for Monday in Saudi Arabia, the US-Ukraine talks on a partial ceasefire began on Sunday.

After the meeting, Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov took to his X account to label the talks with the US delegation in Saudi Arabia “constructive and meaningful.”

“We discussed key issues, particularly the energy sector,” the Ukrainian minister said. The US team would meet separately with the Russian delegation.

In a post on Instagram earlier, Zelenskyy also said, over 1,580 guided aerial bombs, nearly 1,100 attack drones, and 15 missiles of various types were used against the Ukrainian people this week alone, stressing that all of this weaponry contains at least 102,000 foreign components.

“That’s why sanctions against Russian terrorists must be more effective. Every loophole that allows them to bypass the sanctions regime must be eliminated,” he wrote.

Russia warns of ‘difficult negotiations’

Meanwhile, Russia downplayed expectations of a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine, saying talks were just beginning and that “difficult negotiations” lay ahead.

“We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.

According to Peskov, Russia’s “main” focus in its talks with the United States would be to discuss the possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal, which would ensure safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.

US expects real progress in talks

US President Donald Trump‘s envoy Steve Witkoff said he expects Ukraine and Russia to make progress on a ceasefire in the Black Sea at the talks in Saudi Arabia.

“I think you’re going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you’ll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire,” he told Fox News.

Witkoff also said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace and is not planning to invade “all of Europe.”

“I feel that he wants peace,” Witkoff said.

Meanwhile, White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said the United States is discussing a range of confidence-building measures aimed at ending the war, including the future of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.

Earlier, Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and immediate 30-day ceasefire. Instead, he proposed halting strikes only on energy facilities. But on the eve of the negotiations, both sides launched new drone attacks.