The Daily Populous Wednesday March 12nd, 2025 morning edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by nbcnews

The United States will immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and resume providing security assistance to Ukraine after delegates from Kyiv agreed to accept the Trump administration's proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire with Russia.

"Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties," according to a joint statement issued Tuesday after meetings in Saudi Arabia.

"The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace," the statement added.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment.

The future of U.S. support for Kyiv has been in grave doubt since an extraordinary on-camera spat between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. In the wake of that confrontation, Trump's administration paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

National security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting with Ukrainian officials Monday in Saudi Arabia. Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made a series of policy moves heralding a more cooperative stance toward Russia, traditionally considered a key geopolitical foe of the West. Trump, for his part, falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war and called Zelenskyy — not Vladimir Putin — a dictator.

Trump briefly addressed the 30-day ceasefire announcement outside the White House on Tuesday, telling reporters: "Ukraine has agreed to it and hopefully Russia will agree to it." Asked whether Zelenskyy would be invited back to the White House, Trump responded: "Sure, absolutely."

Zelenskyy welcomed the ceasefire proposal as a "positive step," saying in his nightly address to the nation that Ukraine wants to "do everything to achieve peace as quickly and reliably as possible — so that war never returns."

In Tuesday's joint statement, the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations said Trump and Zelenskyy had "agreed to conclude as soon as possible" a deal to develop Ukraine's critical mineral resources, a pact designed to "expand" Ukraine's economy and "guarantee Ukraine's long-term prosperity and security."

The minerals deal was halted after the Trump-Zelenskyy clash.

"The delegations also discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts as part of the peace process, particularly during the above-mentioned ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children," the joint statement said.

The announcement came hours after Russia said it had shot down more than 330 Ukrainian drones. Two people were killed and 18 were injured in the offensive, which Russian authorities said was the largest attack on Moscow and the surrounding area since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022.

Kyiv said its targets included oil production and pipeline control facilities.

The talks in Saudi Arabia were anchored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Andriy Yermak, the chief of Zelenskyy's presidential office.

"Representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defense of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace," the joint statement said.

"The Ukrainian delegation reiterated the Ukrainian people’s strong gratitude to President Trump, the U.S. Congress, and the people of the United States for making possible meaningful progress toward peace," the statement added.

At one point during Tuesday's talks in the coastal city of Jeddah, journalists were ushered in for a briefing with Rubio and Waltz, only to be ushered out when the conversation kept going.

Kyiv's delegation had promised a news conference but scaled down to a briefing with only Ukrainian journalists, highlighting the fraught nature of the discussions.

SabertoothSean on March 11st, 2025 at 19:52 UTC »

The article doesn't state that resuming the information sharing happened because Zelensky agreed to the cease fire, but that's what happened right?

8_bw on March 11st, 2025 at 18:52 UTC »

I get that the uncertainty is a negotiating tactic. Same logic for tarrifs. The Trump admin wants to be viewed as powerful and fickle so that others have to walk on pins and needles around them and give in on demands quickly "or else". Maybe that's a great business tactic in real estate, maybe it's not, I don't have any clue. But the core issue is that the uncertainty treats an alleged ally (Ukraine, Canada) as hostile.

I know of no evidence, either in this admin or from past experience, that this strategy works well for IR.

nbcnews on March 11st, 2025 at 18:35 UTC »

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Ukraine said Kyiv "expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by" Russia.

"The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace," the joint statement went on to say.

The future of U.S. support for Ukraine has been in doubt since an extraordinary on-camera spat between President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.