Russian servicemen fire man-portable air-defence systems in the town of Sudzha, recaptured by Russian forces amid Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in Kursk region, Russia, on March 22, 2025. Photo: VCG

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he had met top military commanders in the country's northeast to discuss the frontline in Ukraine's war with Russia and Ukrainian delegation's meetings with US officials due to get under way in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, according to the Reuters on Sunday.

Although technicalities surrounding a potential limited cease-fire are being discussed, overseeing its implementation still faces many challenges, Chinese experts said, noting that Russia may demand a cease-fire monitoring mechanism in this round of negotiations to prevent Ukraine from using the opportunity to strengthen its military or leverage compensation talks to target Russia's economic lifelines.

In Washington, a source briefed on the planning of the meetings in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian and Russian officials said the US side would be led by Andrew Peek of the National Security Council and Michael Anton of the State Department, per Reuters. 

The group was to meet the Ukrainians on Sunday night and the Russians on Monday.

According to the DPA German Press Agency, the talks between Ukrainian and US representatives in Saudi Arabia will focus primarily on technicalities surrounding a potential limited cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine Foreign Ministry said.

"This is a meeting to establish the parameters for the various proposed cease-fire options currently on the table," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on Friday, said according to the report.

The White House aims for a truce agreement by April 20, which this year is Easter in both the Western and Orthodox churches, but recognizes that timeline may slip given the large gaps between the positions of the two sides, according to people familiar with the planning, Bloomberg reported.

Zelensky agreed to a partial cease-fire on energy targets that has been brokered by Washington. The Ukrainian president said he would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to the cease-fire, said Reuters on Sunday.

According to the Reuters, Russian and US experts are due to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea at talks on a possible peace settlement when in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Kremlin said.

Russia may demand a cease-fire monitoring mechanism in this round of negotiations to prevent Ukraine from using the opportunity to strengthen its military or from leveraging compensation talks to target Russia's economic lifelines, said Cui Heng, a scholar at the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation.

Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University, echoed his Cui's perspective, pointing out that the outcome of the US-Ukraine talks will shape the tone of the following US-Russia negotiations.

Russia and Ukraine will sit in neighbouring rooms and negotiate a cease-fire plan through US intermediaries shuttling back and forth, the White House has said, as reported by The Telegraph.

The US is conducting separate negotiations with Ukraine and Russia rather than holding trilateral talks, which helps avoid direct confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, said Sun, noting that the US may using its identity as "information gatekeeper" during the negotiation with both Russia and Ukraine to pursue its own interests.

The US is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hoping to agree on a partial cease-fire that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure. But both sides have been reporting continued strikes, Reuters reported.

A Russian drone attack on Kiev killed at least three people, including a 5-year-old child, sparking fires in high-rise apartment buildings and throughout the capital, Reuters quoted a Ukrainian officials said early on Sunday, reported Reuters.

Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy wrote on his X platform account that he had met top military commanders in Kharkiv to discuss situation at the front in Ukraine's conflict with Russia.

"After concentrating their forces to capture Kursk, the Russian military has put Ukrainian troops under greater pressure, while Zelensky's visit to the front lines aims to boost morale and project confidence in victory," said Cui.