U.S., Russia hold 12-hour talks on Ukraine ceasefire

Let's begin with the U.S.-Russia talks on a Ukraine ceasefire.

Sure. The meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Russian officials on Monday ended after over 12 hours, with a joint statement expected to follow.

While talks aimed at establishing a partial ceasefire in Ukraine were ongoing in Riyadh with a Black Sea ceasefire also topping the meeting agenda hostilities persisted on the ground in the Sumy region.

The talks behind closed doors focused on implementing a 30-day pause in attacks targeting energy infrastructure.

While both the U.S. and Russian parties acknowledged the importance of reducing hostilities, disagreements emerged.

Discussions also touched upon halting Black Sea attacks to safeguard commercial shipping routes.

A joint statement is to be published on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched a missile strike in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, injuring nearly 90 people, including 17 children.