US and Ukraine meet after major drone attack on Russia

High-stakes talks between senior delegations from Ukraine and the United States on how to end Kyiv's three-year war with Moscow have opened in Saudi Arabia, hours after Russian air defences shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over Russia.

Two people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said.

No large-scale damage was reported.

In the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday journalists briefly entered a room where senior Ukrainian delegation met with America's top diplomat for talks on ending Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio smiled for the cameras. Asked what is his expectations for the meeting were, Rubio gave a thumbs up and replied, "Good."

However, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak commented to reporters that the most important thing was "how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine".

He said security guarantees were important to prevent Russia invading again.

In 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister was on hand for the talks as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags stood in the background.

The talks offer an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine's relationship with Trump's administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's February 28 visit to the White House.

Critically, Ukraine needs to persuade Washington to end the subsequent US suspension of military aid and some intelligence sharing.

US officials have said that positive talks in Jeddah could mean it might be only a short suspension.

Zelenskiy, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will not be joining the talks.

Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press on Monday that they would propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea, which would bring safer shipping, as well long-range missile strikes that have hit civilians in Ukraine, and the release of prisoners.

The two senior officials said Kyiv is also ready to sign an agreement with the United States on access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals - a deal that US President Donald Trump is keen to secure.

On his plane to Jeddah, Rubio said the US delegation would not propose any specific measures to secure an end to the three-year conflict but rather wanted to hear from Ukraine about what they would be willing to consider.

"I'm not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do," Rubio told reporters accompanying him.

"I think we want to listen to see how far they're willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are."

Rubio said the rare earths and critical minerals deal could be signed during the meeting but stressed it was not a precondition for the United States to move ahead with discussions with either Ukraine or the Russians.

The Kremlin has not publicly offered any concessions.

Russia has said it's ready to cease hostilities on condition that Ukraine drops its bid to join NATO and recognises regions that Moscow occupies as Russian.

Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory since the war began.

Russian forces have held the battlefield momentum for more than a year, though at a high cost in infantry and armour, and are pushing at selected points along the 1000km front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, against Ukraine's understrength and weary army.

Ukraine has invested heavily in developing its arms industry, especially high-tech drones that have reached deep into Russia.

Most of the Ukrainian drones fired overnight - 126 of them - were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv's forces control, and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region, according to a statement by Russia's defence ministry.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying towards it - the biggest single attack on Moscow in the war.

with Reuters