Ceasefire 'in Moscow's hands,' Ukraine says after US meeting in Saudi Arabia

LONDON -- The prospect of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is "in Moscow's hands," a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following successful U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Andriy Yermak -- the head of Zelenskyy's office -- was part of the Ukrainian delegation that met with American representatives in Jeddah, where both teams agreed to pursue a 30-day ceasefire and use the pause in fighting as a launchpad for full peace negotiations to end Russia's three-year-old invasion of its neighbor.

"Ukraine is ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire if Russia agrees," Yermak wrote on Telegram on Wednesday morning. "This is a necessary step to begin work on real security guarantees and preparing the final terms of a peace agreement."

"But now the key is in Moscow's hands -- the whole world will see who really wants to end the war and who is simply playing for time," he added.

Moscow was readying itself to hear details from Tuesday's U.S.-Ukraine meeting, with officials "scrutinizing" the publicly released statements, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

He added that Russia "doesn't want to get ahead of itself" on the potential ceasefire, saying the Kremlin will want to first get specifics directly from Washington. A "summit phone call" may be in the cards, he said.

President Donald Trump's return to office has put Ukraine in a strategic bind, no longer able to rely on the "ironclad" -- if at times hesitant, according to many Ukrainians -- American support during former President Joe Biden's time in office.

Trump has aligned with Russian narratives about the conflict, framing Ukraine as the key impediment to peace, falsely blaming Kyiv for starting the war, undermining Zelenskyy's legitimacy as president and seeking to recoup years of American aid via a controversial minerals sharing deal.

Last week, the Trump administration announced a freeze on U.S. military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Tuesday's meeting in Saudi Arabia saw that pause lifted, officials said.

Moscow has welcomed the radical U.S. shift in rhetoric and policy, which culminated in an explosive Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting last month.

Kyiv has been striving to prove its readiness for peace while stressing that no deal can succeed without American security guarantees to deter repeat Russian aggression. Ukrainian leaders have also cast doubt on President Vladimir Putin's readiness to end the fighting and urged their U.S. partners to be wary of the Kremlin.

Zelenskyy says US needs to 'convince' Russia to accept proposal

Following Tuesday's talks, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram of the 30-day ceasefire plan, "Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take this step. The United States of America needs to convince Russia to do so."

"We agree, and if the Russians agree, the silence will take effect at that very moment," he added. "An important element in today's discussions is America's readiness to restore defense assistance to Ukraine and intelligence support."

"Ukraine is ready for peace," Zelenskyy wrote. "Russia must also show whether it is ready to end the war -- or continue it. The time has come for the whole truth. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine."

Speaking in Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he is "very serious" about a ceasefire. "For me it is important to end the war," he added.

"I want the president of the United States to see it, I want Americans to see and feel it," Zelenskyy said. "I want Europe and all to be in alliance in order to do everything to force Russia to end this war."

"As for the security guarantees, we will talk about them in more details if there is ceasefire for 30 days," the president continued. "These 30 days are given to prepare a draft. We have our proposals, but we will draft the steps that we will agree on with our allies and formats of security guarantees which Ukraine will have after the war is over."

"Today, everything depends on the fact whether Russia wants to cease fire or to continue killing people. Today, it fully depends on this country. United States of America demonstrated its steps and position. Ukraine demonstrated and outlined its positions in a very direct way, without any reservations. And Russia will have to answer to that."

"I believe that the meeting itself in Saudi Arabia ruins Russian plans to escalate relations between Ukraine and United States," Zelenskyy said. "On the contrary, there is de-escalation."

Trump says he could pressure Russia financially but doesn't want to

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the administration hasn't spoken to Putin yet "with substance" regarding the ceasefire proposal.

"We haven't spoken to him yet with substance because we just found out and we just were able to get Ukraine to agree," he said. "So, we're going to know very soon. I've gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation."

Trump would not comment on whether he has a meeting with Putin scheduled.

"But we had a great success yesterday," he said.

"It's up to Russia now," Trump said. "But we've had a good relationship with both parties, actually. And we'll see. People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia."

Trump declined to get into specifics when asked what he can do to pressure Russia to agree to the ceasefire proposal.

"We can, but I hope it's not going to be necessary," he said.

"There are things you could do that that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense," he added, without providing any specifics. "I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace."

The president then reiterated his previous claim that Ukraine would be a bigger obstacle in negotiations.

"We've got Ukraine done. And, as you as you know, I've always said that Ukraine might have been the more difficult party," he said.

Trump said he is pressing for peace amid mounting casualties in the war, which he claimed was "over nothing."

"We're all working hard to get this thing finished," he said. "It's crazy, over nothing, and it's not going to go anywhere. It's just a terrible situation. And I think, and I think we have a chance to get it done."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington, D.C., will pursue "multiple points of contact" with Russia to see if Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war.

"The ball is truly in their court," Rubio said during a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland, as quoted by The Associated Press. Rubio also said he hopes Russia will end attacks on Ukraine in the coming days.

"We don't think it's constructive to stand here today and say what we're going to do if Russia says no," Rubio said, adding he would avoid statements that "are abrasive in any way."

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff -- who took part in the recent U.S. talks with both Ukraine and Russia -- is due to visit Moscow "in the coming days," according to a source familiar with the plans.

Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency also reported Wednesday that CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe spoke by phone with Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

Fierce combat continues

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, said in an interview published Wednesday that he does not believe Trump wants to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.

"He has his own view of the situation, which he regularly and directly states," Lavrov said. "This war should never have started."

Despite apparent progress in Jeddah, the fighting continues. Fierce combat is ongoing all along the front lines, particularly in the western Russian Kursk region, where Moscow's forces are pushing Ukrainian troops back from positions seized in a surprise August offensive.

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces confirmed in a briefing on Wednesday that Ukraine has lost a significant part of the territory in Kursk.

Putin met with troops at the Russian control center in Kursk on Wednesday, where he called for them to defeat Ukrainian forces in the region "as soon as possible," according to the Kremlin.

"Your task is to completely destroy the enemy, which has entrenched itself in the Kursk region and is still conducting warfare here, and fully liberate the Kursk region's territory within the shortest possible time," Putin said.

Overnight, both sides launched drones across the shared border. Russia's Defense Ministry reported the downing of 21 Ukrainian UAVs.

Ukraine's air force reported three missiles and 133 drones launched into the country overnight. The air force said 98 of the drones were shot down and 20 were lost in flight without causing damage. Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions were affected, the air force said.

Five people were killed and 12 injured due to shelling in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian emergency officials.

One person was killed and 15 more were injured in strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown, in central Ukraine, according to Ukrainian emergency officials.

ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler, Kelsey Walsh, Joe Simonetti and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.