Trump officials head to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks, leaving Kyiv blindsided and NATO allies sidelined.
The Trump administration is taking its most decisive step yet in reshaping the Russia-Ukraine war—without Ukraine at the table. As top U.S. officials head to Saudi Arabia for peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, Kyiv finds itself blindsided, not informed and not attending. The move signals a radical shift in U.S. diplomacy, one that could force a settlement on Ukraine with Moscow in the driver’s seat.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the negotiations in Riyadh. Trump has hinted at a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin, marking the first high-level engagement between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine since the war began. But Ukraine’s absence is a glaring red flag—and European allies are furious.
At the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that any peace without Ukraine’s full participation is unacceptable. Meanwhile, NATO leaders fear this could be a repeat of history, where Russia pauses the war, rearms, and strikes again. European officials feel abandoned as Washington’s unilateral approach sidelines NATO allies.
The Trump administration’s real game may be about resources, not just war. Reports indicate that U.S. officials floated a deal to Zelenskyy—hand over part of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued American military aid. If true, this raises alarming questions: Is Washington selling out Ukraine’s sovereignty for strategic minerals?
Zelenskyy has made his stance clear: Putin cannot be trusted. But Trump is rewriting the rules, using Saudi Arabia as a backchannel while NATO watches from the sidelines. With Kyiv left in the dark, the question isn’t just whether a deal is coming—it’s whether Ukraine will have a say in its own future at all.
