Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that the United States wants the Russia-Ukraine war concluded by June and has proposed hosting the next negotiating session in Miami, Florida, next week. This announcement represents a notable escalation in Washington’s involvement in peace efforts.
In statements to reporters publicized early Saturday, Zelensky explained that the US proposal to host talks in Miami would be unprecedented, marking the first time Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams would meet on American territory. “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, adding that American officials want “to do everything by June.”
The Miami talks would constitute the third round of US-mediated negotiations following two sessions already conducted in Abu Dhabi starting in January. While the Abu Dhabi meetings successfully facilitated a major prisoner exchange, they failed to resolve the central territorial disputes driving the conflict. Russia maintains control over approximately 20 percent of Ukraine and is insisting on formal authority over additional territory in the eastern Donetsk region as conditions for peace.
Kyiv has steadfastly rejected Russian territorial demands, arguing that accepting such concessions would violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and establish a dangerous precedent in international relations. Moscow has stated that its territorial requirements are non-negotiable and has warned of renewed military offensives if diplomatic channels fail to deliver satisfactory outcomes. This impasse over borders and territorial control remains the most significant barrier to achieving peace.
As peace talks continue, so does the fighting. Zelensky announced in a Saturday video that Russian forces had struck facilities essential to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants the previous night. The attacks resulted in reduced power generation at several nuclear units and an automatic shutdown of one reactor. Zelensky condemned the strikes as unprecedented acts of terrorism and insisted that Russia must demonstrate genuine commitment to negotiations by ceasing attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.