Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the United States hopes to end the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia by June, pointing out that an invitation was presented to the two parties to hold new talks in the United States during the next week, in light of the Russian army’s continued targeting of Ukrainian energy facilities.
In statements issued on Saturday, Zelensky explained that representatives of Russia, Ukraine, and the United States had held two rounds of negotiations in Abu Dhabi over the past few weeks, under American sponsorship and as part of efforts to end the war, while the Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure in Ukraine did not stop, the most recent of which occurred last night using drones and missiles.
He added that Washington “offered for the first time that the two negotiating teams meet in the United States, most likely in Miami, within a week, adding: They say they want to complete the issue by June.”
The Ukrainian President indicated his country’s approval of this meeting, stressing at the same time that Kiev would not accept any agreements concluded between the United States and Russia without its participation, especially with regard to the territorial issue.
Russia, which controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory, insists on full control of the eastern Donetsk region as part of any agreement to end the war, which means the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the areas still under its control there, threatening occupation by force if negotiations fail.
In return, Ukraine demands an end to the fighting along the current contact lines, and American security guarantees that prevent Moscow from launching any new attack after signing a peace agreement, in light of the difficulty of stopping the slow but continuous Russian advance on the fronts, and the exposure of various Ukrainian regions to continuous strikes.
In this context, Washington proposed establishing a free economic zone in the disputed areas in eastern Ukraine, without a military presence for either party. “Even if we agree to establish a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules,” Zelensky commented.
The talks have not achieved any progress regarding the Zaporizhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the invasion.
For several months, Russian forces have continued to intensify their attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, in an attempt to put pressure on Kiev, causing millions of people to be cut off from electricity and heating in light of sub-zero temperatures. The Ukrainian Air Force announced a new attack on Friday night, in which Russia used 408 drones, 382 of which were shot down, in addition to 39 missiles, 24 of which were intercepted.
Zelensky admitted that Ukrainian nuclear power plants had begun producing smaller amounts of electricity after the intense Russian missile strikes that targeted substations and high-voltage transmission lines, noting that “one of the reactors automatically stopped working,” describing the level of attacks as such that no terrorist in the world would dare to carry them out, and demanding that Russia feel the anger of the entire world.
For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy stated that there was severe damage, especially to electrical conversion stations, explaining that nuclear power plants were forced to reduce their production capacity, and that an emergency rationing of electrical current was implemented in most regions. The private energy company Detec also reported major damage to the equipment of one of the thermal power plants, noting that this is the tenth attack targeting these facilities since October 2025.
During his meeting with French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin in Kiev, Zelensky called on European countries to provide air defense and military aircraft to Ukraine and to make joint efforts to support it.
The recent Russian raids caused hundreds of thousands of residents to lose electricity and heat for hours, while temperatures reached five degrees below zero in the capital in the morning, with expectations of a drop to twenty degrees below zero at the beginning of the week.
These developments came in the wake of Moscow’s announcement that a senior Russian military intelligence officer, General Vladimir Alexeyev, was subjected to an assassination attempt in the Russian capital, as a result of which he was seriously injured. Russia held Ukraine responsible for the incident, accusing it of trying to obstruct the ongoing negotiations.
