Zelensky reveals US deadline for Ukraine and Russia to finalise peace deal and end war

The United States has issued a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to finalise a peace agreement, aiming to conclude the nearly four-year conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed.

Should this deadline not be met, the Trump administration is expected to intensify pressure on both parties to secure a resolution.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, in comments embargoed until Saturday morning, Mr Zelenskyy stated: "The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule."

open image in gallery

He further elaborated on Washington's intentions, adding: "And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events."

In a bid to advance negotiations, the US has proposed hosting the next round of trilateral talks on its soil for the first time, likely in Miami. Kyiv has confirmed its participation in these discussions.

This latest diplomatic push follows unsuccessful US-brokered discussions in Abu Dhabi, which yielded no breakthrough due to the belligerents' "mutually exclusive demands."

Russia continues to insist on Ukraine's withdrawal from the fiercely contested Donbas region, a condition Kyiv has unequivocally rejected.

Zelensky’s statement comes after he claimed earlier this week that 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the start of the war with Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia has blamed Kyiv for the shooting of a senior military general outside a residential building in Moscow, state media reported.

The Kremlin claimed that Kyiv was responsible for the shooting of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, without providing evidence. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.

The suspect is said to have fled the scene after shooting Lieutenant General Alexeyev several times in the Russian capital. He is currently in the hospital.