TRANSCRIPT
"Ukraine. Ceasefire. Ukraine ceasefire, just agreed to a little while ago. Now we have to go to Russia and hopefully President Putin will agree to that also. And we can get this show on the road."
That's U-S President Donald Trump heralding the news of a breakthrough during talks in Saudi Arabia.
A total ceasefire is on the table and US-Ukraine relations appear to be thawing.
JOURNALIST ASKING: "Is Zelenskyy invited back to the White House?
TRUMP ANSWERING: "Sure."
During the US-led talks, Kyiv accepted a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, that covers the frontline and not just fighting by air and sea.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will now take that proposal to Russia, and ask for a decision.
"The president wanted this war to end yesterday and the day before. The president's been clear, he wants peace. And so we want to see it as soon as possible. So, our hope is that the Russians will answer yes as quickly as possible so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations, not never-ending dialogue, you know, talk forever, but real negotiations to end this conflict in a way that's acceptable to both sides, sustainable, and that ensures the stability and security of Ukraine for the long term."
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has meanwhile clarified that Ukrainian officials are on the same page as Mr Trump, despite an explosive meeting between the leaders last month.
"The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear: that they share President Trump's vision for peace. They share his determination to end the fighting, to end the killing, to end the the tragic meat grinder of people and national treasure that's happening on the front in Ukraine."
How Moscow will respond to the proposal is far from certain.
The Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, and Russia, which has been making advances, now holds around a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
That includes Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said he is open to discussing a peace deal but has ruled out territorial concessions.
These Kyiv residents remain sceptical.
"Russia is not ready for a ceasefire. There were several talks already and we understand that during those talks the Russians fired at us, they launched missiles at us. We suffer during the talks."
"No, I don’t believe there will be a ceasefire from the Russian side. When Russia tells Trump that they are ready for peace, they are firing at us in the same time as the talks are happening. I don’t believe there will be a ceasefire."
The US-Ukraine agreement is a sharp turnaround from an acrimonious White House meeting between Mr Trump – who has long been a Ukraine aid sceptic – and Mr Zelenskyy.
Following that encounter, the US cut off intelligence sharing and weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Saudi Arabia but did not participate in the talks, says the US has agreed to reverse that decision.
"An important element of today's conversation is America's readiness to resume defence assistance to Ukraine, including intelligence assistance. When the agreements work, then during these 30 days of silence we can have time to prepare with partners at the level of working documents, all aspects for the reliability of the peace and long-term guarantees of security."
Also collateral to the Oval Office blow-up: a critical minerals deal, that was left on the table.
It would allow the US access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals, as compensation for the billions of dollars' worth of wartime aid received under former president Joe Biden.
Chief of Ukrainian President's Staff, Andrii Yermak, says there's now intention for that deal to be revived.
"So this minerals agreement is going to be signed. You know that it is a framework document. After that, the teams will start working on more detailed document. Today, in this statement, we simply confirmed the intentions of the two sides, the two presidents, to make this really happen."
As the diplomacy plays out, Ukraine has overnight launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region yet.
337 drones were downed over Russia, with at least three employees of a meat warehouse killed and brief disruption to Moscow's four airports.
