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U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators have discussed an ambitious March goal of having Russia and Ukraine agree on a peace deal, though that timeline is likely to slip given the lack of agreement on the key issue of territory, according to sources speaking to Reuters on Friday.
"Under the framework being discussed, any deal would be submitted to a referendum by Ukrainian voters, who would simultaneously vote in national elections", according to five sources who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
The U.S. negotiating team—led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner—has expressed to Ukrainian counterparts in recent meetings in Abu Dhabi and Miami that it would be best if that vote occurred soon, three sources said.
Two sources said U.S. and Ukrainian officials had discussed the possibility that the national election and referendum could occur in May.
U.S. negotiators have said Trump is likely to focus more on domestic affairs as the November congressional midterms approach, meaning top U.S. officials will have less time and political capital to spend on sealing a peace accord, two sources said to Reuters.
"The Americans are in a hurry," said one source familiar with the matter, adding that a vote could be organized in less than six months but would still take a substantial amount of time.
Ukrainian election authorities have projected that it would take about six months to organize an election under current conditions.
Organizing such a vote would require legislative changes, as elections are prohibited during martial law in Ukraine.
Ukraine wants a ceasefire throughout the voting campaign to protect the referendum's integrity, and says the Kremlin has a history of breaking agreed-upon halts in fighting, one source said.
"Kyiv's position is that nothing can be agreed until the security guarantees for Ukraine from the United States and partners are in place," the source added.
A second round of U.S.-brokered talks concluded Feb. 5 in Abu Dhabi with the release of 314 prisoners of war and a commitment to resume discussions soon. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stated on Friday, Feb. 6, that a new round of talks on Ukraine will take place soon, without providing further details on format or participants.
"This will happen soon," Peskov said, confirming that preparations are underway but declining to elaborate on the agenda or timeline.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the next trilateral meeting was likely to take place soon in the United States.
The biggest obstacle to near-term peace in Ukraine is a lack of clarity about the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, several sources said.
Russia is demanding control of the entire Donbas as part of any potential peace settlement, even as Kyiv still controls over 2,000 square miles of the territory.
Ukraine describes that demand as unacceptable, though officials in Kyiv have expressed openness to exploring creative solutions, such as a demilitarized or free-trade zone.
"There's still no progress on the territorial question," the source said.
The fate of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station in Russian-occupied territory, has also proven a sticking point.
Russia has pushed back on a U.S. proposal under which Washington would control the plant and distribute its power to both Russia and Ukraine. Moscow insists on controlling the plant while offering Ukraine cheap power, a proposal Kyiv finds "unacceptable."
Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine's national territory, including Crimea and parts of the Donbas seized before the 2022 invasion.
One Ukrainian official said Zelenskyy was open to the idea of elections in the near future, which has cropped up repeatedly as a U.S. demand since Trump took office in January 2025.
Zelenskyy, whose support has declined since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion but remains well above 50%, is confident he would win, the official said.
While polls show a notable majority of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions in exchange for Western security guarantees, the figures have narrowed slightly over the past year.
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