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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration lifted its pause on military and intelligence support for Ukraine on Tuesday after Kiev endorsed an ambitious U.S. ceasefire proposal aimed at initiating an end to the three-year war.
The agreement, resulting from more than eight hours of meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, dramatically improves Kiev's war footing and lessens a transatlantic divide between U.S. and European allies that had plunged to new lows.
"The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump's vision for peace, they share his determination to end the fighting, to end the killing, to end the tragic meat grinder of people," White House national security adviser Michael Waltz said after the meetings.
The mere fact that U.S. and Ukrainian officials were able to agree on a joint statement, much less one of substance, marked a significant improvement in relations after the row between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and the abrupt suspension of U.S. support for Kiev.
Ukrainian officials came to the meeting offering a limited ceasefire that would ban Kiev and Moscow from launching aerial and sea-based long-range attacks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the talks, made clear that the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire governed the entire conflict, including the front lines, where the vast majority of fatalities have occurred.
"You have to stop shooting at each other, and that's what the president has wanted to see, and that's the commitment we got today from the Ukrainian side," Rubio said.
"We'll take this offer now to the Russians. We hope the Russians will reciprocate," Rubio added.
It is far from clear whether Moscow will accept the proposal, but analysts called the agreement a savvy move by Zelensky, whose position of strength had been greatly diminished by the public chasm between Ukraine and its most powerful backer, the United States.
"It effectively puts the onus on Russia to accept an arrangement they otherwise would have rejected out of hand or risk Trump's ire," said Sam Charap, a senior political scientist at Rand, a think tank.
Once implemented, the ceasefire can be extended "by mutual agreement of the parties," said the joint statement issued by Ukraine and the United States.
The statement also said the two countries agreed to conclude as soon as possible a "comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine's economy and guarantee Ukraine's long-term prosperity and security."
Absent from the statement is the type of security guarantee Ukrainians say is necessary to deter Russia from invading following a cessation of hostilities.
The Trump administration has ruled out allowing Ukraine into NATO, viewing that as placing new burdens on the United States and obviating a path to peace with Moscow.
The agreement Tuesday was immediately praised by U.S. allies in Europe, including the leaders of the European Commission and the European Council.
"This is a positive development that can be a step towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine," the leaders said in a joint statement. "The ball is now in Russia's court."
Many challenges to concluding a deal remain, as evidenced by the uptick in fighting between the two sides.
Russian authorities said Ukraine targeted Moscow and other cities with a massive drone attack Tuesday, killing three people.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said it was the largest drone attack on the city during the war.
The attack came days after intensive Russian missile and drone strikes that killed 20 Ukrainians and injured dozens more.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have retaken more than 38 square miles from Ukrainian forces in Kursk, in southwestern Russia, an area seized by Kiev in August as a possible bargaining chip in any peace talks.
A critically important aspect of Tuesday's agreement is the resumption of weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The United States had stopped the transfer of any of the $3.85 billion in remaining military equipment available for Ukraine and halted delivery of weapons already in transit that had been approved by the Biden administration. Waltz said that aid will now "proceed to the Ukrainians."
Also crucial to the deal is the perception that the United States still backs Ukraine after Trump and Vice President JD Vance derided Zelensky as an obstacle to peace.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha hailed the agreement as a "step that proves Ukraine is ready to move forward on the path to a just end to the war. Ukraine is not an obstacle to peace; it is a partner in its restoration."
Charap, at Rand, said the agreement "goes a long way toward repairing the U.S.-Ukraine relationship given that Kiev and Washington are now on the same page on the war."