The United States wants Ukraine and Russia to bring their almost four-year war to an end by June and has offered to host negotiations between the two sides in Florida next week, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports RTE.
US-led efforts to resolve Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have intensified in recent weeks, but deep divisions remain between Moscow and Kyiv over the central issue of territory, reports RTE.
Russia, which controls about 20% of Ukraine, is demanding full control of the eastern Donetsk region as part of any agreement and has warned it will attempt to seize it by force if negotiations collapse.
Ukraine, however, says giving up land would encourage further aggression from Moscow and has ruled out signing any deal that does not prevent Russia from invading again, reports RTE.
“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,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in remarks released early on Saturday.
“They say that they want to do everything by June,” he added, reports RTE.
The United States has facilitated two rounds of talks between the parties in Abu Dhabi since January, helping to secure a large prisoner exchange but failing to make progress on territorial issues.
Both Russia and Ukraine have acknowledged that the negotiations have been challenging, reports RTE.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly voiced frustration that Ukraine is being asked to make far greater concessions than Russia.
Kyiv has proposed freezing the conflict along the existing front lines, reports RTE.
Moscow has rejected that proposal, while Washington has instead suggested that the territory Kyiv currently controls in Donetsk be turned into a “free economic zone” with no military presence from either side.
“Even if we come to the creation of a free economic zone, we will need fair and reliable rules,” Mr Zelensky said, reports RTE.
Mr Zelensky also said the two sides have failed to reach a “common understanding” on who should control the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russian forces seized the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, at the start of the war and have held it ever since, reports RTE.
Mr Zelensky added that Ukraine will not accept Russia and the United States reaching agreements about Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement.
Throughout the negotiation process, Russia has continued launching deadly strikes across Ukraine, cutting power and heating to millions during freezing conditions, reports RTE.
Kyiv says these attacks amount to war crimes.
Ukraine was today forced to request emergency assistance from Poland after Russian strikes hit the Burshtynska and Dobrotvirska power plants in western Ukraine, triggering nationwide blackouts, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said, reports RTE.
“Due to the damage caused by the enemy, emergency outages have been applied in most regions,” grid operator Ukrenergo said.
Ukraine’s nuclear power stations were forced to “reduce their generation capacity”, according to the energy ministry, reports RTE.
“Russian criminals carried out another massive attack on Ukraine’s energy facilities,” Mr Shmyhal said on Telegram. “Energy workers are ready to start repair works as soon as the security situation allows”, reports RTE.
The strikes came as temperatures began to fall, with forecasts predicting lows of –14C in the coming days.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, yesterday accused Ukraine of organising the shooting of a senior military intelligence general in Moscow, leaving him wounded. Kyiv has not commented, reports RTE.
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, calling it a “special military operation” aimed at stopping NATO expansion — a justification Kyiv says is a cover for an illegal land grab.
The war has caused widespread devastation, destroying entire cities, killing tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers, and forcing millions of people to flee their homes, reports RTE.
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