US ‘just about’ ready to lift Ukraine intel freeze, Trump says ahead of Saudi meet

LONDON — The U.S. is “just about” ready to lift its freeze on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, President Donald Trump said Sunday, as American and Ukrainian negotiators prepare for bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia intended to move toward a peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion.

“Well, we just about have,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One when asked if he would consider resuming intelligence sharing. “We want to do anything we can to get Ukraine serious about getting something done,” he added.

Trump’s administration has embarked on a dramatic pivot away from the “ironclad” backing of Ukraine practiced by former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump has falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war, tried to undermine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, sought to strong-arm Kyiv into a controversial minerals sharing deal and froze military aid and intelligence support in a bid to force Ukraine into making concessions to Russia.

Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh are intended to revitalize bilateral relations following weeks of tense exchanges between Washington, D.C., and Kyiv, which culminated in an explosive Oval Office confrontation between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance.

The U.S. delegation in Saudi Arabia will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz. The Ukrainian team will be led by Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office. The U.S. side is expecting Ukraine to show willingness to make peace, Trump suggested on Sunday.

“We’ll be looking at a lot of things,” he said. “We have big meetings coming up. As you know, it’s Saudi Arabia that’s going to include Russia. It’ll be Ukraine. We’ll see if we can get something done.”

“I think everybody wants to see it get done,” the president added. “We’re going to make a lot of progress.”

“I think they will sign the minerals deal,” Trump said when asked about progress on the controversial agreement. “I want them to want peace.” Trump claimed that Ukraine has not yet shown that willingness.

Trump avoided answering whether he would place sanctions or tariffs on Russia and pointed to White House officials’ upcoming meetings in Saudi Arabia. The president also avoided giving a definitive answer when asked if the U.S. would resume aid to Ukraine if the minerals deal is signed.

Zelenskyy will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with the kingdom’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman.

“Tomorrow, we will continue working to bring peace closer — there will be my visit to Saudi Arabia,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media Sunday. “Also, today, the meeting of our teams — Ukraine and the United States — in Saudi Arabia has been further prepared. We hope for results — both in bringing peace closer and in continuing support.”

On Monday morning, Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram, “Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war and we have always said that the only reason the war continues is Russia.”

The public U.S.-Ukraine break has prompted concern among European leaders, with leaders both rallying around Zelenskyy and urging him to repair his fraying relations with Trump. Officials in Russia appeared jubilant, openly suggesting that the Trump administration had aligned its views with the Kremlin’s.

Trump and his top officials have said that both Ukraine and Russia will be expected to make concessions in pursuit of a peace deal to end Moscow’s invasion, which itself is only the latest chapter in more than a decade of cross-border aggression.

Trump last week suggested in a post to Truth Social that he was “strongly considering large-scale sanctions” and tariffs on Russia until a deal is reached, adding that Moscow “is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now.” Trump also told a joint session of Congress he had received “strong signals” that Russia is ready to make peace.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week that the U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia are a “positive” development, though stressed there are unresolved “nuances.”

“The question is who to negotiate with?” Peskov told reporters. Russia has repeatedly framed Zelenskyy as an illegitimate president, citing the delay to planned 2024 presidential elections in Ukraine necessitated by the imposition of martial law.

The Kremlin has also cited a September 2022 Ukrainian decree in which Zelenskyy declared negotiations with Putin “impossible,” after Moscow claimed to have annexed four partially-occupied Ukrainian regions.

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are continuing their long-range missile and drone strike campaigns. Deadly weekend strikes by Russia prompted condemnation from several European nations.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, for example, wrote on X, “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims.”

Sunday night saw Russia launch 176 attack drones into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force, of which 130 were shot down and 42 lost in flight without causing damage. The air force reported impacts in Kharkiv, Poltava and Kyiv regions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down nine Ukrainian drones overnight.

ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.