US wants Ukraine war ended by June, Zelenskyy says; talks proposed in Miami

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the United States wants the war between Ukraine and Russia to end by June, adding that both sides have been invited to the US for talks next week.

“America proposed for the first time that the two negotiating teams — Ukraine and Russia — meet in the United States of America, probably in Miami, in a week. We confirmed our participation,” Zelenskyy said.

There was no immediate comment from Washington or Moscow on the proposed talks. US President Donald Trump has, however, repeatedly pushed for an end to the conflict since returning to office more than a year ago.

Zelenskyy’s remarks were released on Saturday following the second round of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which ended on Friday without any announcement of a breakthrough. He said the discussions showed that “difficult issues remained difficult”, particularly the question of territorial concessions that Ukraine is under pressure to consider.

He added that the parties discussed, for the first time, the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the US, rather than only negotiating teams. However, he cautioned that “preparatory elements are needed” before such a meeting could take place.

Asked if a deadline had been set for an agreement, Zelenskyy said: “The Americans say that they want to do everything by June.” He suggested that domestic political factors in the US, including the November midterm elections, were influencing the proposed timeline.

Even as diplomatic efforts continued, Russia stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to widespread power outages during freezing winter conditions.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russian forces carried out “another massive attack” targeting substations, overhead power lines and power plants critical to the electricity grid. Ukraine’s state-owned operator Ukrenergo said the power deficit in the system had “significantly increased” following the strikes, while Poland was asked to provide emergency electricity supplies.

Zelenskyy said more than 400 drones and 40 missiles were launched overnight, with air defence systems intercepting most, but not all, of them. Damage was reported in at least four regions.

In the western Lviv region, the Dobrotvir power plant was hit, leaving thousands without electricity, while the Burshtyn power plant in neighbouring Ivano-Frankivsk was also struck. Energy company DTEK said this was the tenth major attack on its power plants since October 2025 and that its facilities had been targeted more than 220 times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine also said it struck targets inside Russia, including a factory producing missile fuel components in the Tver region and an oil depot in the Saratov region. Russia has not commented on these claims.

Russia has accused Kyiv of undermining peace efforts. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday blamed Ukraine for the shooting of a senior Russian military officer, saying it was intended to disrupt negotiations. Responsibility for the incident has not been established.

Zelenskyy said earlier this week that about 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The BBC has confirmed the names of nearly 160,000 fighters killed on the Russian side.