Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war before the start of this summer.
He told reporters that after two days of US brokered talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi, Washington proposed holding another round of negotiations in Miami next week and Kyiv had agreed. Zelenskiy said US officials indicated they would likely pressure both sides to keep to a timetable shaped partly by US mid term election politics.
He criticised overnight Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities, saying Moscow must be stopped from using winter cold as a weapon. According to him, Russia launched more than 400 drones and about 40 missiles in the latest barrage, leaving over 1,000 apartment buildings in Kyiv without heating as families sheltered in metro stations.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine is ready to halt its own attacks on Russian oil depots and other energy targets as part of a proposed “energy ceasefire,” but that Moscow has not yet agreed. US President Donald Trump recently said Vladimir Putin had accepted a one week ceasefire, but Russia resumed heavy strikes on February 3 after a brief pause.
On the broader talks, Zelenskiy said Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on territorial questions. He noted that a US idea for a free economic zone in the Donetsk region has not impressed either side and that Ukraine will not withdraw from territory it still controls there.
He stressed that firm security guarantees are essential for any lasting peace and that military teams from both sides have discussed technical ways to monitor a future ceasefire. The talks also covered long term economic cooperation, described by officials as a “prosperity plan” for Ukraine’s postwar recovery.
Zelenskiy said he had intelligence reports that Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev floated possible US Russia business deals worth up to 12 trillion dollars. He warned that any agreement between Moscow and Washington must not violate Ukraine’s constitution or sovereignty.
Despite the lack of a breakthrough, the Abu Dhabi talks produced an agreement to exchange 157 prisoners of war on each side, restarting swaps after a five month pause. Zelenskiy said these exchanges would continue even as negotiations over a wider settlement move slowly.
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