Zelenskyy confirms Ukraine will attend US peace talks in Saudi Arabia, 1 week after Oval Office clash

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that his team will meet with their American counterparts in Saudi Arabia for peace talks. The statement comes just one week after Zelenskyy’s Oval Office clash with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which ended with him leaving the White House ahead of schedule.

“Next Monday, I have a visit planned to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the Crown Prince. After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “Ukraine is most interested in peace.”

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Zelenskyy included a message to President Trump in the post, vowing Ukraine “is working and will continue to work constructively for a swift and reliable peace.”

On Thursday, Ukrainian opposition leaders, former President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, confirmed that they had their own talks with the U.S., the Guardian reported. However, they deny being part of an alleged White House plan to remove Zelenskyy from power. 

Prior to the Oval Office blowup, in a post criticizing Zelenskyy, President Trump slammed the Ukrainian leader for not holding elections. However, Poroshenko, who lost to Zelenskyy in 2019, said he was against wartime elections and believes they should be done when martial law ends, according to the Guardian.

Russia appeared to respond to Zelenskyy’s agreement to have his team participate in the talks by launching an attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

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Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko confirmed the “massive missile and drone” attack on his Facebook page, according to the Associated Press. At least 10 people, including a child, were reportedly injured, the Associated Press reported, citing authorities.

“Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war,” Zelenskyy wrote about the attack in a post on X.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said the attack on Ukraine’s energy supply was legitimate because it is “linked with Ukraine’s military industrial complex and weapons production,” according to the Associated Press.

Russia has attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure multiple times during the bloody three-year war. In April 2024, Russia destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants, and in December 2024, Russia pummeled Ukraine’s power grid.

On Tuesday, while delivering an address to a joint session of Congress, Trump spoke about his desire to end the war and announced that he had received a letter from Zelenskyy. President Trump read the letter aloud and said that he appreciated it.

“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” President Trump said. “The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.’”

Zelenskyy’s emphasis on peace seems to be a response to Trump’s accusation that the Ukrainian leader had no interest in it following last week’s Oval Office clash.

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the heated meeting.