Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has disclosed that the United States wants the Russia-Ukraine conflict concluded by June and has proposed hosting peace negotiations in Miami next week. This marks a significant escalation in American mediation efforts to end the war.
In statements to reporters released early Saturday, Zelensky explained that Washington’s proposal to host talks in Miami would be unprecedented in the nearly four-year war. This represents the first time the US has invited Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams to meet on American soil. “The United States has proposed for the first time that the two negotiating teams — Ukraine and Russia — meet in the United States, probably in Miami, in a week’s time,” Zelensky stated, emphasizing that US officials want everything resolved by June.
The Miami meeting would be the third installment of US-facilitated negotiations, building on two previous rounds held in Abu Dhabi since January. While the Abu Dhabi talks successfully brokered a major prisoner exchange, they failed to bridge the gap on territorial issues. Russia presently controls approximately 20 percent of Ukraine and is demanding formal control over additional territory in the eastern Donetsk region as conditions for peace.
Kyiv has firmly and repeatedly rejected any territorial concessions, viewing them as unacceptable violations of sovereignty that would reward aggression. Russian negotiators have stated that territorial demands are fundamental and have threatened military escalation if diplomatic efforts do not produce acceptable territorial arrangements. This deadlock on borders and sovereignty continues to obstruct meaningful progress toward peace.
While diplomatic channels remain active, military operations persist. In a video posted Saturday, Zelensky revealed that Russian forces had attacked facilities essential to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants the night before. The strikes resulted in reduced power generation at several nuclear facilities and an automatic shutdown of one reactor unit. Zelensky described the strikes as unprecedented terrorism and called on Russia to demonstrate commitment to the peace process by halting attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.