Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the US has set a June deadline for a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia, with the Trump administration proposing to host the next round of talks in America. The Ukrainian president told reporters that both sides had been invited to further discussions next week, likely in Miami.
Zelenskyy stated that the Trump administration “will probably put pressure” on Ukraine and Russia to end the war by the beginning of summer. “They say they want to get everything done by June,” he said, adding that Washington would push both sides to meet the schedule.
This is the latest in a series of deadlines set by President Trump, who previously pledged to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. A 100-day goal set by envoy Keith Kellogg also passed, as did an August deadline last year, and in December Trump claimed a draft agreement was nearly “95% done”.
Two days of US-led peace talks in Abu Dhabi this week were described as “genuinely constructive” by Ukrainian official Kyrylo Budanov, but no breakthrough was achieved. Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine would participate in the next round, which Washington plans to host in about a week.
The Ukrainian president hinted that the June deadline might be linked to Trump’s midterm election campaign, saying: “The [midterm] elections are definitely more important for them [the Americans]. Let’s not be naive.” He added that if Russia is genuinely ready to end the war, setting a deadline is important.
