Ukraine and Russia given June deadline for peace deal

The US has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal to end the war, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters, as Russian strikes on energy infrastructure forced nuclear power plants to cut output last night. If the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration will put pressure on both sides to meet it, he added.

- STAFF REPORTER

“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,” Mr Zelensky said.

“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 proposed holding the next round of trilateral talks next week in their country for the first time, probably in Miami, Mr Zelensky said. “We confirmed our participation,” he added.

Mr Zelensky said Russia presented the US with a $12 trillion economic proposal - which he dubbed the “Dmitriev package” after Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Bilateral economic deals with the US form part of the broader negotiating process.