US Sets Deadline for Ukraine-Russia Peace Agreement Amid Ongoing Conflict

The United States has given Ukraine and Russia a deadline to reach a peace agreement to end the nearly four-year war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He added that if the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration will likely put pressure on both sides to meet it. “The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule," Zelensky said, speaking to reporters on Friday. Zelensky’s comments were embargoed until Saturday morning. “And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events," he said. He said the US has proposed hosting the next round of trilateral talks in its own territory for the first time, likely in Miami, and that Ukraine has confirmed its participation. The new deadline comes after US-brokered trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi failed to yield a breakthrough, with both sides sticking to incompatible demands. Russia continues to push for Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donbas, where heavy fighting persists, a condition Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. (With inputs from AP)