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The United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal to end the nearly four-year war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters, as Russian strikes on energy infrastructure forced nuclear power plants to cut output on Saturday.
"The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer, and will probably put pressure on the parties according to this schedule," Zelenskyy said in remarks published by Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform.
"And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to ensure that the war ends. And they want a clear schedule of all events," he said.
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian side understands that "internal issues" in the U.S. have an impact on this deadline, particularly referring to the start of the election campaign for the November congressional midterm elections.
"They will probably just have a different priority—Congress. Let's not be naive," he added.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. has proposed hosting a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams for the first time, specifying that this meeting will take place "probably in Miami, in a week."
"We confirmed our participation," he added.
The Ukrainian president's remarks follow two-day negotiations between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4-5, after which Russia and Ukraine held their first prisoner exchange in five months.
An initial round of trilateral talks took place Jan. 23-24, also in the UAE capital.
Russia, which occupies around 20% of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal and has threatened to take it by force if talks fail.
Ukraine says ceding ground will embolden Moscow and refuses to sign an agreement that fails to deter Russia from invading again.
"Difficult issues remained difficult. Ukraine once again confirmed its positions on the Donbas issue. 'We stand where we stand' is the fairest and most reliable model for a ceasefire today, in our opinion," Zelenskyy said.
Washington has pushed for Kyiv to convert the land it currently controls in the Donetsk region into a "free economic zone" where neither side has military control. Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about this proposal.
"I do not know whether this can be implemented, because when we talked about a free economic zone, we had different views on it," he said, noting that, "Even if we come to the creation of a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules."
"A common understanding has not yet been found regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)," Zelenskyy said.
Russian forces seized the plant, Europe's largest, at the start of the conflict and have held onto it since. Zelenskyy reaffirmed his position that territorial issues should be resolved at the level of leaders, confirming his readiness to engage in such negotiations.
Zelenskyy also noted that Russia presented the U.S. with a $12 trillion economic proposal, which he dubbed the "Dmitriev package" after Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Bilateral economic deals with the U.S. form part of the broader negotiating process.
He said Ukraine will offer the U.S. a "sequence plan" for adopting documents related to the end of the war, and that the American side has already put forward initiatives to have all agreements related to the end of the conflict signed at about the same time.
Zelenskyy said the U.S. agreed to participate in ceasefire monitoring together with Russia and Ukraine once an agreement is reached on its implementation, and that discussions are underway between delegations on "determining the details."
He said the U.S. again proposed a ceasefire banning strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukraine is ready to observe such a pause if Russia commits, but when Moscow previously agreed to a one-week pause suggested by the U.S., it was violated after just four days.
The Ukrainian President also noted that French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking an "alternative" dialogue with Russia to ensure Europe's presence in the ongoing negotiation process.
"Ukraine will not tolerate Russia and the United States making deals about Ukraine behind its back," he added.
A package for Ukraine's post-war recovery will be concluded trilaterally involving Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe, Zelenskyy noted.
Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continued with over 400 drones and about 40 missiles launched overnight Saturday, Zelenskyy said.
State energy transmission operator Ukrenergo said the attack was the second mass strike on energy infrastructure since the start of the year, forcing nuclear power plants to reduce output. Eight facilities in eight regions came under attack.
"As a result of missile strikes on key high-voltage substations that ensured the output of nuclear power units, all nuclear power plants in the territories under control were forced to reduce their load," Ukrenergo stated.
Ukraine was forced to request emergency assistance from Poland after Russia hit the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska power plants in western Ukraine, causing blackouts across the country, Energy Minister Denys Shmygal said.
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