Shorouk Express
Ukraine has accepted Donald Trump’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, following crunch talks in Saudi Arabia.
The US has agreed to lift its pause on intelligence sharing and “security assistance” as part of the agreement. The talks in Jeddah were aimed at repairing the relationship between Kyiv and Washington after the disastrous White House meeting between President Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky last month.
The Trump administration subsequently suspended intelligence sharing and military aid with Ukraine in order to pressure Zelensky to enter talks to end the war with Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.
The talks in Saudi Arabia produced a commitment that the US would renew intelligence and “security support”.
On Wednesday it emerged that UK officials, including a Downing Street fixer, were reportedly “intimately involved” in brokering the talks.
Below we look at everything we know about the ceasefire deal so far.
Who attended the meeting?
Mr Zelensky sent his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, to meet with Mr Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in the hope of mending bridges following the leaders’ clash during their chaotic Oval Office meeting last month.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff also attended the talks, and is due to head to Moscow this week to meet with Vladimir Putin.
While Mr Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman he did not attend the talks himself.
open image in gallery
What was agreed?
After eight hours of discussions on Tuesday, the two countries released a joint statement.
Ukraine said it “expressed readiness to accept the US 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 statement added: “The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.”
Mr Zelensky said at the meeting that Ukraine proposed three key points: silence in the skies, silence at sea and the release of prisoners of war and detainees—both military and civilian. Silence in the skies means a stop to missile strikes, bombs, and long-range drone attacks; silence at sea means the safe transportation of shipping goods.
open image in gallery
These proposals were reportedly drafted with the help of UK national security advisor Jonathan Powell, who visited Mr Zelensky in Kyiv on the weekend. Mr Powell also worked with US counterpart Mike Waltz and German and French officials to fashion a plan for the ceasefire, government sources told the BBC.
Proposals drafted with Mr Powell reportedly included a temporary pause in fighting, prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia. After the announcement of the ceasefire deal, Mr Trump told reporters: “Hopefully, president Putin can agree to it also and we can get this show on the road.”
Mr Zelensky has called on Russia to accept the ceasefire deal his team has agreed with the United States.
He posted on X: “Our position remains absolutely clear: Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything to achieve it as soon as possible and in a reliable way—so that war does not return.
“Ukraine is ready to accept this proposal—we see it as a positive step and are ready to take it. Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same. If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.”
What does Russia think of the deal?
Russian sources told Reuters Putin is unlikely to agree to the deal before the Kremlin’s concerns are addressed. Moscow would need to hash out the terms of the ceasefire and obtain some form of guarantees, the senior source told Reuters.
“It is difficult for Putin to agree to this in its current form,” the source said. “Putin has a strong position because Russia is advancing.” Without guarantees alongside a ceasefire Russia’s position could swiftly become weaker, the source added.
Another source said the proposal appeared to be a trap from Moscow’s perspective – because Putin would find it hard to halt the war without concrete guarantees or pledges.
A third source said the US had simply agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing, and decorated that move with a ceasefire proposal.
Mr Rubio said the US would now take the offer to Russia, and the ball is in Moscow’s court. “Our hope is that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations,” Rubio told reporters.
open image in gallery
Mr Rubio said the plan would be delivered to the Russians through multiple channels. Mr Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, was due to meet his Russian counterpart in the coming days and Mr Witkoff plans to visit Moscow this week to meet Putin.
Despite the announcement, Russia launched an overnight air attack on Kyiv, with air defence forces engaged in repelling the strikes, Vitali Klitschko, mayor of the Ukrainian capital, said on Wednesday.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it didn’t rule out contacts with the United States representatives over the next few days, state news agency RIA reported. Mr Trump said he thought he would talk to Mr Putin about it this week.
The Russian leader has said he is open to discussing a peace deal, but he and his diplomats have repeatedly stated they are against a ceasefire and would seek a deal that safeguards Russia’s “long-term security.”
Previously, Mr Putin has ruled out territorial concessions and said Ukraine must withdraw fully from four Ukrainian regions claimed and partly controlled by Russia.
How are world leaders reacting to the deal?
Ursula Von der Leyen has joined world leaders in saying the ball is now in Russia’s court after the agreement.
The president of the EU Commission posted on X: “We welcome today’s news from Jeddah on the US-Ukraine talks, including the proposal for a ceasefire agreement and the resumption of US intelligence sharing and security assistance.
“This is a positive development that can be a step towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine. The ball is now in Russia’s court. The EU is ready to play its full part, together with its partners, in the upcoming peace negotiations.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer welcomed a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has agreed to and said it was now up to Russia to end the fighting.
open image in gallery
“As both American and Ukrainian delegations have said, the ball is now in the Russian court,” Starmer said in a statement, congratulating both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump for the “remarkable breakthrough”.
Starmer said he would use a meeting of world leaders that Britain is convening on Saturday to discuss next steps.
“We are ready to help bring an end to this war in a just and permanent way that allows Ukraine to enjoy its freedom,” he said.
Germany’s outgoing chancellor said the agreement was an “important and correct step” towards peace in Ukraine. In a post on X, he added: “We stand with Ukraine and the United States and welcome the proposals from Jeddah. Now it is up to Putin.”
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez also welcomed the agreement, describing it as positive news for Ukraine.
