Officials from the United States and Russia are set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss plans for a potential ceasefire to the war in Ukraine.
This comes a day after US negotiators held talks with a Ukrainian delegation, which Kyiv described as “productive and focused”.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy said the separate discussions in Riyadh would bring about “some real progress”.
Meanwhile, cross-border attacks continued overnight, with a Russian air strike injuring a 37-year-old man in Kyiv, according to local authorities. Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted a number of Ukrainian drones in several regions.
Kyiv’s regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said the overnight strike also damaged several houses, and the injured man had been taken to hospital. An earlier attack in Kyiv on Saturday killed three people, including a five-year-old girl.
Also on Sunday, a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia injured a 54-year-old woman and damaged residential buildings, the region’s administration said on Telegram.
In Russia, the defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Both Russia and Ukraine have continued fighting despite the ongoing talks looking to secure an end to the three-year war.
The discussions, mediated by the US, are part of Trump’s plan to secure a fast ceasefire in Ukraine.
His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he was hopeful that real progress towards at least a partial ceasefire would be made during the talks, in an interview with Fox News.
After Sunday evening’s meeting between Kyiv and Washington, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the talks were working towards securing “a just and lasting peace” for Ukraine and Europe.
“The discussion was productive and focused – we addressed key points including energy”, he said in a post on X.
Looking ahead to Monday’s meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were “difficult negotiations head”.
“We are only at the beginning of this path,” he told Russian State TV.
