Direct oxidation of the 4,6-O-benzylidene acetal protecting group to C-6 carboxylic acid has been developed that provides an easy access to a wide range of biologically important and synthetically challenging uronic acid and sugar amino acid derivatives in good yields. The RuCl3-NaIO4-mediated oxidative cleavage method eliminates protection and deprotection steps and the reaction takes place under mild conditions. The dual role of the benzylidene acetal, as a protecting group and source of carboxylic acid, was exploited in the efficient synthesis of six-carbon sialic acid analogues and disaccharides bearing uronic acids, including glycosaminoglycan analogues. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.