Senior officials from Ukraine and the United States opened talks Tuesday on how to end Moscow’s three-year war against Kyiv, hours after Russian air defenses shot down 343 Ukrainian drones in the biggest such attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Three people were killed and 18 were injured, including three children, in the massive drone attack that spanned 10 Russian regions, officials said. Russia, meanwhile, launched 126 Shahed and other drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine on Tuesday, the Ukrainian air force said, as part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war. In the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, journalists briefly entered a room where a senior Ukrainian delegation met with America’s top diplomat for talks on ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio smiled for the cameras and when asked what his expectations for the meeting were, he gave a thumbs up and replied, “Good.” Across the table, Ukrainian officials, including the country’s top diplomat and defense chief, sat without any facial expressions as the meeting got underway at a luxury hotel. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian or U.S. officials on the drone attack. However, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, who was also taking part in the talks, told 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 from invading again in the future. In 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and threw its weight behind pro-Kremlin militias in eastern Ukraine. They seized large swaths of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and fought against Kyiv’s forces for the following eight years. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister was also on hand as American, Saudi and Ukrainian flags stood in the background. Officials did not answer any of the shouted questions. The delegations met for about three hours in the morning before taking a break, and officials said the talks would continue in the afternoon. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States will inform Russia about the results of the Jeddah talks, which he described as “normal practice.” Talks bring a chance to mend US-Ukraine relations The meeting in Jeddah offered an opportunity for Kyiv officials to repair Ukraine’s relationship with the Trump administration after an unprecedented argument erupted during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Feb. 28 visit to the White House. Critically, Ukraine needs to persuade Washington to end the U.S. suspension of military aid and some intelligence sharing after the Oval Office blowout. U.S. officials have said that positive talks in Jeddah could mean it may be only a short suspension. Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press on Monday that they will propose a ceasefire covering the Black Sea, which would bring safer shipping, as well as 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 U.S. President Donald Trump is keen to secure. While traveling to Jeddah, Rubio said the U.S. delegation would not be proposing any specific measures to secure an end to the conflict but rather wanted to hear from Ukraine about what they would be willing to […]