Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - Russia said Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday named a high-level delegation including ministers to meet US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking to repair ties with President Donald Trump’s administration.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday Washington wanted to discuss a “framework for a peace agreement”.

“We hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps”, Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine was “fully committed to constructive dialogue”.

But he condemned “brutal” deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was “not thinking about how to end the war”.

Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.

The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended US military aid following his public falling-out with Zelensky last week.

Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.

But Ukraine’s troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks with Russia’s army pushing back.

- Russian claims gains -

Russia’s defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.

According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in the Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control.

The advance appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops, although Kyiv has not confirmed this.

Russia has already taken back over two-thirds of the territory in Kursk initially seized by Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military General Staff said Saturday that clashes were ongoing amid heavy bombardment with artillery and guided aerial bombs.

Small groups of Russian troops have also mounted attacks in recent weeks into Ukraine’s Sumy region bordering Kursk.

But Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation on Saturday denied reports of a “massive breakthrough”, saying its forces were destroying small groups trying to cross.

- Meeting in Saudi Arabia -

Full peace negotiations remain a distant prospect, with Kyiv and Moscow making starkly opposed demands. Trump has made settling the conflict a priority since his return to the White House.

But by reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin while criticising Zelensky, he has raised fears in Kyiv – and among its European allies – that Trump may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement that favours Russia.

Senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Zelensky will also visit Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

For the US, Witkoff has said he wants to discuss an “initial ceasefire” with Russia and a “framework” for a longer agreement.

Zelensky said Ukraine would be represented by officials including Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

In his evening address, he told Ukrainians he was “confident that the meeting will be productive”.

Zelensky also urged allies to “increase sanctions against Russia” after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.

A Russian barrage hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region late Friday, killing 11 people and wounding 40, according to the emergency services.

“Russia is proving literally every day with its cruelty that nothing has changed for them,” Zelensky said.

He accused Moscow of wanting to “destroy and capture more as long as the world allows them to wage this war”.

On Saturday, a strike on the embattled city of Pokrovsk killed a man in his 40s and wounded 2 others, the Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said.

Separately, four people were killed Saturday by drone attacks in the eastern Kharkiv region, one of which hit a meat processing plant, the head of its military administration, Oleg Synegubov, said.

A drone attack also killed a 74-year-old man in the southern Kherson region, the governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

- ‘More bombs’ -

The latest strikes came after EU leaders, shaken by the prospect of US disengagement, agreed to boost the bloc’s defences.

Putin “has no interest in peace”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Saturday, reacting to the latest attacks.

“We must step up our military support– otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price,” she added.

Zelensky said Saturday that Ukrainian and British diplomats had held “highly productive” talks in Kyiv.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the latest Russian attacks were “what happens when someone appeases barbarians”, resulting in “more bombs, more aggression”.

In Dobropillia, AFP saw charred residential buildings, flattened market stalls and evidence of cluster bomb damage.

Irina Kostenko, 59, spent the night cowering in her hallway with her husband. When she left the apartment building on Saturday, she saw a neighbour “lying dead on the ground, covered with a blanket”.

“It was shocking, I don’t have the words to describe it,” Kostenko told AFP.

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