A meeting is set to begin in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, starting Tuesday. There, representatives of Ukraine will sit down with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and a mineral agreement. Yet, even the night before the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces did not halt their attacks on Ukraine! Instead, airstrikes continued throughout the night in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

According to a report by the news agency Reuters, explosions were heard all night long on Monday in Kyiv and its surrounding areas. The attacks were not limited to the skies; in some places like Kursk, assaults were also carried out on the ground. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that Ukraine’s air defense forces were constantly active in Kyiv’s skies to counter potential airstrikes.

Both sides had been optimistic about ending the war on the eve of the Jeddah meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also stated that Ukraine would take a “constructive” stance in discussions mediated by U.S. representatives in Saudi Arabia regarding the war situation. However, since the beginning of this week, Russian forces have intensified their attacks in various parts of Ukraine, including Kursk. On Sunday night, Russian ground troops attacked multiple Ukrainian military bases in Kursk throughout the night. Clashes had also begun in the Sumy region, which is under Ukrainian control. Additionally, drone attacks have been ongoing since Sunday night. The Zelenskyy administration claims that they have destroyed more than 130 Russian drones so far.

On February 28, a public verbal spat took place between Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance at the White House. The two leaders engaged in a heated exchange over the Russia-Ukraine war. The America-Ukraine mineral agreement fell apart. The Ukrainian President left the White House without even having lunch. Since then, diplomatic relations between the two countries have been under strain. Trump has repeatedly announced the cessation of aid to Ukraine to “pressure” it into ending the war with Russia. However, in this situation, the European Union has stepped in to assist Ukraine. Later, Zelenskyy expressed “regret” for the situation that arose and agreed to sit down with the U.S. to discuss a ceasefire with Russia.