We've just had another update from Saudi Arabia - albeit a cryptic one.

Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak, posts a handshake emoji on X, alongside two photos of US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah.

It isn't clear from the photos whether the officials are arriving or leaving the talks. Nor can we interpret what the emoiji is hinting at.

As soon as we get a clearer idea of what's happening, we'll let you know.

A Ukrainian political adviser says it's a "sign of hope" that the meeting between US and Ukrainian officials in Jeddah has lasted for more than three hours.

Yuriy Sak, a political adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries, tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that the Kyiv delegation went to Saudi "in the hopes that this will bring us closer to ending the war and demonstrate to our American partners we are serious".

US mulls reinstating Ukraine support if talks go wellpublished at 14:20 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March

14:20 GMT 11 March

Tom Bateman
Reporting from US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah

As we just mentioned, the US and Ukrainian officials are now back in the meeting room after a short break, meaning they've been talking for more than three hours.

I saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sweep past on his way in this morning. When I asked him what his expectations were, he gave a thumbs up and said it'll "be good”.

That reflects the upbeat messaging we have been hearing from the Americans. They want to get the relationship with the Ukrainians back on track.

He hinted quite heavily on the plane last night as we were coming into Jeddah that if the US feels the meeting today goes well, it may be prepared to reinstate military support and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

The Americans are saying they are using today's talks to assess where the Ukrainians are at.

Basically, they want to work out what the Ukrainian red lines are and potentially take those to Moscow to see what the Russian position is.

But it's a question of how big that gap is and whether or not it can be bridged.

Emily Atkinson
Live editor

If you're just joining us, talks have resumed between US and Ukrainian teams in Jeddah after a short break.

We're yet to receive a substantial update on their progress, but there are some signs of movement.

"We're getting there", a US delegate says. For the Ukrainians, it's a "work in progress".

While we wait for more detail, here's a quick look at the make up of the room.

Representing Ukraine:

• Andriy Sybiha, foreign minister. A former diplomat and ex-adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky. He was appointed to the role during a revamp of the president's top team in September
• Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's closest aide. Often described as the president's right-hand man, he has served as his chief of staff since February 2020
• Rustem Umerov, defence minister. A Crimean Tatar best known for negotiating with Russia and for organising successful prisoner exchanges

Image source, Reuters

For the United States:

• Mike Waltz, national security adviser. A decorated military special forces veteran and long-term supporter of Donald Trump
• Marco Rubio, top US diplomat. The secretary of state is considered a foreign policy "hawk" - meaning someone who takes hard-line positions

Image source, Reuters

And hosting today's talks are Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Adviser Mosaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban.

Image source, Getty Images

President Zelensky's closest aide, Andriy Yermak, has just posted an update on X from Saudi Arabia.

"Work in progress," he writes in Ukrainian, followed by emojis of the Ukrainian and US flags.

Yermak earlier said that the meeting with the US began in a "very constructive way".

Image source, EPA

The talks in Jeddah started around 12:15 local time (09:15 GMT) and stopped for a break at 15:35 (12:35 GMT), according to the US State Department.

While on break, a reporter shouted to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "How was the meeting?"

"Did it go well, Mr Waltz?" the reporter asked the US national security adviser.

"We're getting there," Waltz replied as he entered the elevator.

As Kyiv-Washington talks continue in Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko says the overnight strikes on Moscow shows the country is capable of carrying out a "very serious" attack on Russia.

Speaking to the BBC from Kyiv, he says "this is a message that we have, at least, cards" (an apparent reference to Donald Trump recently saying he believes Russia has "the cards" in any peace talks).

On the meeting in Jeddah, Goncharenko says he hopes negotiations will rebuild trust between the US and Ukraine after Zelensky and Trump shared a fiery exchange in the Oval Office.

He adds that Ukraine's goal is to secure the nation's territorial integrity, sovereignty and security guarantees during the meeting.

Image source, Getty Images

As part of its drone attack on Russia overnight, Ukraine's military says it struck "a number of strategic objects", including "a production capacity of the Moscow oil refinery".

The armed forces says the refinery is capable of processing "11 million tons of oil per year" and provides "40-50%" of Moscow's diesel and gasoline.

In a statement, it adds that it also hit a production station in Orlov, which it says is important in managing an oil pipeline supply to a seaport in St Petersburg.

We're now hearing more details about the third person who has died after an overnight drone attack on Moscow.

The 43-year-old man, like the other two victims, worked for food company Miratorg, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov says in a post on social media.

Vorobyov adds the two other victims, aged 38 and 50, died after a drone hit a parking lot at 05:14 local time when the pair had just begun their shift.

Footage of explosions in Moscow verified as damage examinedpublished at 12:20 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March

12:20 GMT 11 March

Image source, Reuters

By Paul Brown and Kris Bramwell

BBC Verify has been analysing footage from the southern Moscow region following a reported Ukrainian drone attack.

So far, we have verified footage of explosions as well as damage to high rise buildings in the city of Vidnoye and the Zyablikovo district.

We have also verified footage of a fire at a car park in Domodedovo and we've seen damage at Domodedovo rail station - which some Russian Telegram channels are attributing to the drone attack.

The Russian Defence Ministry says 91 Ukrainian drones were "intercepted and destroyed" over Moscow region as part of a wider attack which also saw strikes on the cities of Bryansk and Kursk.

Image source, Reu

It's just passed midday in London and 15:00 in Jeddah. If you're just joining us, here's the latest:

• Talks in Saudi Arabia are under way - with US and Ukrainian delegates currently speaking at a conference centre in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Jeddah
• President Zelensky's aide said the meeting began in a "very constructive" way after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the BBC the meeting will be "good"
• The meeting follows a set of drone attacks on Russia overnight that has killed at least three people, according to officials

• The Kremlin said Moscow had been protected overnight thanks to "preparations carried out well in advance" but a resident from a street hit by debris questioned how the attack could have happened. "What about our air defences?" she told the BBC
• Ukraine also came under attack last night - with regional authorities reporting attacks in Odesa, Sumy, Kherson and Donetsk. The country's air force said 126 drones and one Iskander ballistic missile were used in total - a majority of which were shot down

We'll be keeping across the key developments so stick with us.

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

On Domodedovskaya Street police have taped off the area around an apartment block. Early this morning the building was damaged by debris from a Ukrainian drone.

Workmen on a crane are repairing the roof. There’s a crowd of people looking at the building. Some of them are videoing it on their mobile phones.

“How can this happen in Moscow? What about our air defences?” Tatyana, a pensioner who lives in the apartment block opposite, says to me.

“We need to do something. But what?” she continues.

“Put more pressure on the scum,” a man called Mikhail interjects. He’s referring to the Ukrainian army.

“No, this should be decided on a political level,” Tatyana says. "Ukrainians are also suffering. Politicians must end this.”

“Not politicians,” says Mikhail, “but our army.”

Ben Tavener
Moscow producer

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Moscow and the surrounding region had been protected from Ukraine’s biggest ever drone attack on Russia and its capital thanks to “preparations carried out well in advance” of the event.

“This is precisely what allows us to ensure the protection of Moscow, the Moscow region, and many other regions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov added it was “absolutely right” that the General Secretary of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Feridun Sinirlioğlu, had been taken to one of the drone attacks sites south of Moscow “to see that the Kyiv regime targets residential buildings”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian state media said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the attack.

Peskov was also asked whether Kyiv had launched the attack to break off talks. He said there were no talks happening, but it was possible Ukraine wanted to spoil possible grounds for talks.

He said the US would inform Russia of any results of the US-Ukraine talks but would not confirm that the US envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet Vladimir Putin on March 13, as has been reported.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

A third man has died following the Ukrainian drone attack overnight, the head of Moscow's Domodedovo district says in a post on social media.

• Earlier we reported two men had died after a "massive" overnight drone attack on Moscow, according to officials. Russian media says the two men are aged 38 and 50 and worked at a car park near Domodedovo airport

We can now bring you more comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak, who says Ukrainians want peace more than anyone ahead of the meeting in Jeddah.

According to the BBC's US partner CBS, Yermak says Ukraine is "ready to go", adding that US security guarantees are "very important" but for now it's necessary to discuss "how to start this process" for peace.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

We can bring you an update on the Saudi talks from Andriy Yermak, the head of President Zelensky's office.

"The meeting with the US team began in a very constructive way, we're working towards a just and lasting peace," he said on Telegram.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah

We were live on air on BBC Breakfast as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked past heading into the meeting. I asked him what he expects from the talks with Ukraine today. "[It'll] be good," he responded.

What the Americans want from this is a sign that – from their perspective – the Ukrainians are now committed to the process that President Trump wants to put in place - that is basically a quick truce between the Ukrainians and the Russians.

The big fear from the Ukrainians is that would take place without a security guarantee that would effectively police that ceasefire.

I asked the Ukrainian top aide to Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, about that before he went in.

He said they will still seek that security guarantee, but he added that today is much more about a constructive process for how to move towards a ceasefire.

We can bring you the latest images from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as American and Ukrainian officials meet to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Image source, Andriy Yermak/X

Ukraine says it's going to adopt a "constructive tone" with these talks.

For Kyiv this is more like "operation patch up" - making up with Donald Trump and the White House after that very public row in the Oval Office a couple of weeks ago.

If you ask the American side, they say things are looking positive, they're moving in the right way, but these are going to be very difficult discussions.

Ukraine's very future could be moulded in a conference centre in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Jeddah.

They will discuss what are called "security protocols" and "territorial issues" which could translate as what America is willing to give Ukraine, as long it is willing to give up certain territories to Russia.

Until now, Ukraine has been very reluctant to go into specifics, but it has no choice but to engage in these talks because of Europe and Ukraine's continued reliance on America's military might.

Ukraine is still after a security guarantee from America, that it would step in if Russia was to invade once more after a ceasefire was signed. This is an assurance the White House has so far refused to give.

After this meeting in Saudi, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff could well meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow later this week.

If Ukraine and America agree a "peace framework", will Russia too? And what will it concede?

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

Earlier we heard from Andriy Yermak, the head of President Zelensky’s office, who said Ukrainian negotiators are "getting ready" for key talks with the American delegation.

“Our team has arrived. We’re getting ready to work,” he said on Telegram.

“Defending Ukraine’s interests and a clear vision of ending the war, we will effectively work with our American partners,” he added.

The Ukrainian delegation also includes Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

Among the American negotiators are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff.