The U.S. is “just about” ready to lift its freeze on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, President Donald Trump said Sunday, as American and Ukrainian negotiators prepare for bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia intended to move toward a peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion.
“Well, we just about have,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One when asked if he would consider resuming intelligence sharing. “We want to do anything we can to get Ukraine serious about getting something done,” he added.
Trump’s administration has embarked on a dramatic pivot away from the “ironclad” backing of Ukraine practiced by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war, tried to undermine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, sought to strong-arm Kyiv into a controversial minerals sharing deal and froze military aid and intelligence support in a bid to force Ukraine into making concessions to Russia.
PHOTO: Ukrainian troops walk through a forest on March 9, 2025 in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Diego Fedele/Getty Images)
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Tuesday’s talks in Jeddah are intended to revitalize bilateral relations following weeks of tense exchanges between Washington, D.C., and Kyiv, which culminated in an explosive Oval Office confrontation between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance.
The U.S. delegation in Saudi Arabia will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz. The Ukrainian team will be led by Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office. The U.S. side is expecting Ukraine to show willingness to make peace, Trump suggested on Sunday.
“We’ll be looking at a lot of things,” he said. “We have big meetings coming up. As you know, it’s Saudi Arabia that’s going to include Russia. It’ll be Ukraine. We’ll see if we can get something done.”
“I think everybody wants to see it get done,” the president added. “We’re going to make a lot of progress.”
“I think they will sign the minerals deal,” Trump said when asked about progress on the controversial agreement. “I want them to want peace.” Trump claimed that Ukraine has not yet shown that willingness.
PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stands by him aboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Mar. 9, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
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Trump avoided answering whether he would place sanctions or tariffs on Russia and pointed to White House officials’ upcoming meetings in Saudi Arabia. The president also avoided giving a definitive answer when asked if the U.S. would resume aid to Ukraine if the minerals deal is signed.
Zelenskyy will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with the kingdom’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman.
“Tomorrow, we will continue working to bring peace closer — there will be my visit to Saudi Arabia,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media Sunday. “Also, today, the meeting of our teams — Ukraine and the United States — in Saudi Arabia has been further prepared. We hope for results — both in bringing peace closer and in continuing support.”
On Monday morning, Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram, “Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war and we have always said that the only reason the war continues is Russia.”
A source close to Zelenskyy confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine will propose a partial ceasefire in its talks with the U.S. The partial ceasefire would apply to long-range air strikes and attacks at sea, the source said.
The timeframe for the truce remains unclear.
“We want to propose a partial ceasefire that can be monitored and then see how the Russians respond to determine the next steps,” the source added.
The public U.S.-Ukraine break has prompted concern among European leaders, with leaders both rallying around Zelenskyy and urging him to repair his fraying relations with Trump. Officials in Russia appeared jubilant, openly suggesting that the Trump administration had aligned its views with the Kremlin’s.
Trump and his top officials have said that both Ukraine and Russia will be expected to make concessions in pursuit of a peace deal to end Moscow’s invasion, which itself is only the latest chapter in more than a decade of cross-border aggression.
PHOTO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for an EU Summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Mar. 6, 2025. (Omar Havana/AP)
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Trump last week suggested in a post to Truth Social that he was “strongly considering large-scale sanctions” and tariffs on Russia until a deal is reached, adding that Moscow “is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now.” Trump also told a joint session of Congress he had received “strong signals” that Russia is ready to make peace.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week that the U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia are a “positive” development, though stressed there are unresolved “nuances.”
“The question is who to negotiate with?” Peskov told reporters. Russia has repeatedly framed Zelenskyy as an illegitimate president, citing the delay to planned 2024 presidential elections in Ukraine necessitated by the imposition of martial law.
The Kremlin has also cited a September 2022 Ukrainian decree in which Zelenskyy declared negotiations with Putin “impossible,” after Moscow claimed to have annexed four partially-occupied Ukrainian regions.
On Monday, Peskov told journalists that Russia’s read on this week’s meeting “is not important.”
“What is important here is what the United States expects at various levels,” he continued. “We have repeatedly heard statements that the U.S. expects the Ukrainians to demonstrate their desire for peace. That’s probably what everybody is waiting for. Whether the members of the Zelenskyy regime really want peace or not. Of course, this is very important and it is necessary to decide.”
Peskov also dismissed reports that U.S. and Russian officials would meet again in Saudi Arabia this week. “It is not true,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are continuing their long-range missile and drone strike campaigns. Deadly weekend strikes by Russia prompted condemnation from several European nations.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, for example, wrote on X, “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims.”
Sunday night saw Russia launch 176 attack drones into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force, of which 130 were shot down and 42 lost in flight without causing damage. The air force reported impacts in Kharkiv, Poltava and Kyiv regions.
PHOTO: Tracers are seen in the night sky as Ukrainian anti-air units fire at drones during a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 10, 2025. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
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Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down nine Ukrainian drones overnight.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said drones attacked the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Samara Oblast. Kovalenko said the refinery has an annual capacity of 8.8 million tons of oil, putting it among the country’s ten largest refineries.
Kovalenko said the plant produces a wide range of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and fuel oil, which are used by transport and military equipment. “For the Russian army, this refinery has strategic significance, as it ensures stable fuel supplies for military operations,” he said.
The city of Novokuybyshevsk sits around 560 miles from Ukrainian-held territory. The refining facility there was attacked by drones twice in March 2024.
The governor of the Samara region confirmed reports of an attack.
“Tonight, the enemy made another attempt to attack our enterprises,” wrote Vyacheslav Fedorishchev without specifying the target of the strike. “It was unsuccessful.”
“Three drones were neutralized in Novokuybyshevsk,” the governor added. “There were no fires or damages, everything is operating as usual.”
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Joe Simonetti and Oleskiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
US ‘just about’ ready to lift Ukraine intel freeze, Trump says ahead of Saudi meet originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
