US resumes military aid and intelligence sharing as Ukraine says it is
open to a 30-day ceasefire
[March 12, 2025]
By MATTHEW LEE
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The Trump administration lifted its
suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and
Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with
Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials
said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.
The administration's decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago,
when it imposed the measures in an apparent effort to push Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with
invading Russian forces. The suspension of U.S. assistance came days
after Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump argued about the conflict in
a tense White House meeting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation to the talks
in Jeddah, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the
Kremlin, which has so far opposed anything short of a permanent end to
the conflict without accepting any concessions.
“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready
to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say
yes or no," Rubio told reporters after the talks. “If they say no, then
we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”
Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: "The Ukrainian
delegation today made something very clear, that they share President
Trump’s vision for peace.”
Tuesday's discussions, which lasted for nearly eight hours, appeared to
put to rest — for the moment at least — the animosity between Trump and
Zelenskyy that erupted during the Oval Office meeting last month.
Waltz said the negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war
is going to permanently end,” including long-term security guarantees.
And, he said, Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply
of billions of dollars of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing.
Seeking a deal with Russia
Trump said he hoped that an agreement could be solidified “over the next
few days.”
“I’ve been saying that Russia’s been easier to deal with so far than
Ukraine, which is not supposed to be the way it is," Trump said later
Tuesday. "But it is, and we hope to get Russia. But we have a full
ceasefire from Ukraine. That’s good.”
The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the U.S. and Ukrainian
statements. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said
only that negotiations with U.S. officials could take place this week.
Trump 's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this
week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir
Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized
to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.
Officials met in Saudi Arabia only hours after Russia shot down over 300
Ukrainian drones in Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin's
full-scale invasion. Neither U.S. nor Ukrainian officials offered any
comment on the barrage.
Russia also launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine, the
Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of
civilian areas.
Zelenskyy renews calls for lasting peace
In an address posted shortly after Tuesday's talks ended, Zelenskyy
reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to a lasting peace, emphasizing that the
country has sought an end to the war since its outset.
“Our position is absolutely clear: Ukraine has strived for peace from
the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything possible
to achieve it as soon as possible — securely and in a way that ensures
war does not return,” Zelenskyy said.
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Ukrainian Head of Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, right, and
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov speak to journalists in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who led the Ukrainian
delegation, described the negotiations as positive. He said the two
countries “share the same vision, and that we are moving in the same
direction toward the just peace long awaited by all Ukrainians.”
In Kyiv, Lena Herasymenko, a psychologist, accepts that compromises
will be necessary to end the war, but she said they must be
“reasonable.”
“We had massive losses during this war, and we don’t know yet how
much more we’ll have,” she told The Associated Press. “We are
suffering every day. Our kids are suffering, and we don’t know how
the future generation will be affected.”
Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier who could give only his first name
because of security restrictions, warned that Ukraine cannot let
down its guard.
“If there is a ceasefire, it would only give Russia time to increase
its firepower, manpower, missiles and other arms. Then they would
attack Ukraine again,” he said.
Hawkish Russians push back against a ceasefire
In Moscow, hawkish politicians and military bloggers spoke strongly
against a prospective ceasefire, arguing that it would play into
Kyiv’s hands and damage Moscow’s interests at a time when the
Russian military has the advantage.
“A ceasefire isn’t what we need,” wrote hardline ideologue Alexander
Dugin.
Viktor Sobolev, a retired general who is a member of the Russian
parliament’s lower house, warned that a 30-day truce would allow
Ukraine to beef up arms supplies and regroup its troops before
resuming hostilities.
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political commentator, suggested that
Moscow could demand a halt on Western arms supplies to Ukraine as
part of a ceasefire. “An embargo on arms supplies to Ukraine could
be a condition for a truce,” he wrote.
The Kremlin sticks to its conditions for peace
Russia has not publicly offered any concessions. Putin has
repeatedly declared that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement,
not a temporary truce.
Russia has said it’s ready to cease hostilities on the condition
that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognizes regions that
Moscow occupies as Russian. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of
Ukraine's territory.
Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a
year, though at a high cost in infantry and armor, and are pushing
at selected points along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line,
especially in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine has invested heavily in developing its arms industry,
especially high-tech drones that have reached deep into Russia.
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Associated Press writers Baraa Anwer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Hanna
Arhirova and Dmytro Zhyhinas in Kyiv, Ukraine; and Aamer Madhani in
Washington contributed to this report.
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