Russia says meeting with US set for Sunday or Monday, as Ukraine hits key airbases with 'massive' drone strike

20 March 2025, 12:42

The United States will hold its next round of ceasefire talks with Russia either on Sunday or early next week, the Kremlin has confirmed.

It comes as Ukraine launched a "massive" attack on Russian air bases overnight, with the Kremlin saying at least 54 drones have been shot down.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of peace talks: "It may not be Sunday itself, the nuances are being agreed. It could be the start, the very start, of next week."

Prior to this, Ukraine will hold talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine's overnight attack targeted the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast and comes after Russia hit a slew of Ukrainian energy plants, despite agreeing not to just days ago.

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"Saratov and Engels today suffered the most massive UAV attack of all time," Roman Busargin, the governor of Saratov region, wrote on Telegram.

Videos posted online show huge plumes of smoke rising from the air base, which sits around 465 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Russia has so far rejected Trump’s calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, instead agreeing to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.

No 10 welcomes Trump’s ceasefire progress following call with Putin

Hours after agreeing to this, Russia launched a wave of attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine.

As peace talks progress, Donald Trump has suggested the US take ownership of Ukraine's nuclear power plants in a shock move he says would protect the country against further Russian attacks.

The unexpected suggestion came during a call between the US President and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.

Trump said: “The United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he had a "positive, very substantive and frank" conversation with Donald Trump in their first encounter since the historic bust-up in the Oval Office.

Zelenskyy said the call began with him thanking the US president for his efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

"One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it," Mr Zelenskyy said.

Later, Trump spoke of his one-hour call with Ukraine's leader, with the White House branding the exchange "fantastic."

"The American side also proposed an unconditional ceasefire on the frontline, and Ukraine accepted this proposal as well," he added, saying work continues to reach this step.

"I also provided an update on the battlefield situation and the consequences of Russian strikes.

"We spoke about the situation in the Kursk region, touched on the issue of the release of PoWs, and the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces."

Zelenskyy also said he asked about help for Ukraine's air defence.

He said: "Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace."

Ending his statement, the Ukrainian leader said he "highlighted the importance of President Trump's concept of peace through strength".

"We agreed to maintain constant contact, including at the highest level and through our teams."