Ukraine hopes its ceasefire offer will turn the tables on Russia

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ON THE battlefield Ukraine has more than once turned looming catastrophe into partial success against Russia. It might have pulled off a similar feat in the diplomatic realm on March 11th, when it agreed in principle to an American proposal for an “immediate" 30-day ceasefire.

The commitment to stop fighting—if Russia reciprocates—was enough to unblock the flow of American weapons and intelligence. It may also turn the tables on the Kremlin. “We’ll take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope that they’ll say yes; that they’ll say yes to peace," said Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state.

“The ball is now in their court." Ukraine and America have been at loggerheads since a televised shouting match at the White House between their leaders, Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, on February 28th. The American president accused his guest of not wanting peace, threw out the Ukrainian delegation and, days later, halted American weapons deliveries and much vital battlefield intelligence, notably information for long-range strikes. Mr Zelensky worked hard to repair the breach.

On March 4th he wrote an assuaging letter to Mr Trump describing the bust-up as “regrettable", pledged to seek peace and proposed a partial ceasefire that would halt mutual attacks from the air or at sea. British and French leaders worked assiduously behind the scenes to ease the crisis. The setting for the reconciliation meeting—on neutral ground in Jeddah, with Saudi mediators on hand to facilitate the discussions—was more suitable for talks between rivals than ostensible allies in a long war.