UKRAINE’S hero war leader Volodymyr Zelensky is jetting into Saudi Arabia today ahead of crunch talks with the US.
Zelensky will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Kyiv’s team prepares for a showdown with US officials on Tuesday.
Neither Zelensky nor Trump are expected to attend the talks as the US tries to play peacemaker between Ukraine and Russia.
Talks between the two sides have been stormy – with the US President saying he finds Russia easier to deal with.
Trump slammed Zelensky in a very public White House meeting, and Zelensky screamed at a US negotiator behind closed doors.
The US have played hard ball with Ukraine – cutting off aid and intelligence – while trying to bring Moscow back in from the cold.
Critics have accused Trump of appeasement with tyrant Vladimir Putin, something he fiercely denies – saying he merely wants to stop the bloodshed.
Speaking yesterday, the 78-year-old US President said Zelensky wasn’t “grateful” and warned Ukraine “may not survive”.
And as he spoke to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: “Some very big things could happen this week. I hope so.”
You can follow our live blog, below, for all the latest updates …
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Trump fury
Two cafes in Ukraine named after Donald Trump have ripped down their signs in fury at the US President.
In central Kyiv, the owner of both Trump Coffee Bar and Trump Pizza Station decided to remove the name following the US denial of arms and intelligence support to the country.
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No new talks with US planned for this week, Russia says
There are no scheduled discussions between the US and Russia this week, as per Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zaharova reported by Russian state news agency TASS.
This statement from Zaharova follows a report by CNN stating that US officials were expected to meet with Russian counterparts during discussions involving Ukraine in Saudi Arabia this week.
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Welcome and summary
Welcome to The Sun’s Ukraine-Russia blog. You can follow us here for all the latest updates.
Here’s what we know so far…
After the inaugural US-Russia talks last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is in town today for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after which his team will stay over for critical talks with the US on Tuesday.
Overnight, US president Donald Trump said he was hoping that US-led talks could “make a lot of progress, I believe, this week,” as he suggested that a pause on sharing intelligence with Ukraine was “just about” lifted.
