Zelensky Says US Sets Summer Deadline as Miami Talks Offer New Hope

The United States has proposed hosting Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations in Miami next week while establishing a June deadline for ending the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Saturday. The development marks a significant advancement in American efforts to mediate between the two adversaries.
Zelensky’s disclosure came in remarks to reporters that were made public early Saturday morning. The Ukrainian leader emphasized that this represents the first time Washington has offered to host direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations on American soil, suggesting a heightened level of US engagement in the peace process. According to Zelensky, American officials have communicated their goal of resolving the conflict by June of this year.
This upcoming round of negotiations would be the third US-brokered session, following two previous meetings in Abu Dhabi that began in January. The Abu Dhabi talks achieved a notable humanitarian success through a major prisoner exchange but made no headway on territorial issues. Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory and is demanding both recognition of these occupied zones and additional territorial control in the strategically important Donetsk region.
Ukraine has categorically refused to cede any territory to Russia, maintaining that sovereign boundaries must be respected regardless of military circumstances. Russia has characterized its territorial demands as fundamental requirements for peace and has threatened military escalation if negotiations do not produce acceptable territorial concessions. This fundamental disagreement on territory continues to prevent substantive progress toward a comprehensive peace settlement.
The diplomatic developments occur amid ongoing combat. Zelensky reported on Saturday that Russian forces had launched attacks against infrastructure critical to Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operations the night before. The strikes caused multiple nuclear reactor units to reduce power generation, with one unit shutting down automatically. Zelensky described the attacks as unprecedented terrorism and called for international condemnation while urging Russia to prove its commitment to negotiations by ending strikes on civilian infrastructure.