Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the United States has set a fresh deadline of June for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement, signalling increased pressure from Washington to bring the war to an end by early summer.
Speaking to reporters, the Ukrainian president said the Trump administration was pushing for a clear timetable to end the conflict and had invited both sides to further talks next week.
“They say they want to get everything done by June,” Zelenskyy said. “They will do everything to end the war and they want a clear schedule of all events.”
He added that if the June deadline was missed, Washington would likely intensify pressure on both Kyiv and Moscow to move negotiations forward.
Donald Trump had previously vowed to end the war within 24 hours of taking office. His special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, later suggested an agreement could be reached within 100 days of Trump’s inauguration.
When that deadline passed without progress, the US president set a new target of August last year, which also elapsed without a deal. In December, Trump said a draft agreement was nearly “95% done”, though no settlement followed.
Two days of US-led peace talks were held this week in Abu Dhabi but failed to deliver a breakthrough. However, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, described the trilateral discussions as “genuinely constructive”.
Zelenskyy said the Trump administration had proposed hosting the next round of talks in the United States, likely in Miami, within a week. Ukraine has agreed to take part.
He suggested the new June deadline could be linked to domestic political considerations in the US, including Trump’s midterm election campaign.
“The [midterm] elections are definitely more important for them,” Zelenskyy said. “Let’s not be naive.”
He added that setting a deadline would be meaningful only if Russia was genuinely prepared to end the war.
