US pushes Russia and Ukraine to end war by summer, Zelenskiy says

By Yuliia Dysa and Olena Harmash

KYIV, Feb 7 (Reuters) – The United States wants Moscow and Kyiv to find a solution on how to end the war in Ukraine before summer, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

In remarks to reporters released by his office on Saturday after Ukraine and Russia held two days of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi this week, Zelenskiy said Washington had proposed talks in Miami in a week, and that Kyiv had agreed to that.

Zelenskiy also criticised Russia over an overnight attack on Ukrainian energy facilities, saying in comments posted on X that Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold winter weather as leverage against Kyiv.

“The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war before the start of this summer, and will likely pressure the parties to adhere to this schedule,” Zelenskiy said.

“The (November mid-term U.S. Congressional) elections are definitely more important to them. Let’s not be naive. And they say they want to get everything done by June.”

Reuters had earlier quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators had discussed how to secure a quick deal.

Ukraine had suggested a sequencing plan, Zelenskiy said, but he provided no specific details.

This week’s talks in Abu Dhabi concluded without a major breakthrough but Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war each, resuming such swaps after a five-month pause. Zelenskiy said the POW swap would continue.

ZELENSKIY SAYS SECURITY GUARANTEES ARE KEY

On Saturday, Zelenskiy met his negotiating team in Kyiv and posted a video of their meeting, saying he wanted more progress.

“Ukraine needs results, and one of the most important foundations for achieving lasting peace is effective security guarantees,” he said.

Washington has asked Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a new ceasefire covering strikes on energy infrastructure as a de-escalation step during the talks, Zelenskiy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a one-week ceasefire. Russia halted strikes on Ukraine’s power sector for a few days but unleashed a heavy new attack on February 3.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was ready to stop attacks on Russian oil facilities and other energy infrastructure. Moscow has yet to agree.

In the latest Russian attack, Moscow launched over 400 drones and about 40 missiles, targeting Ukraine’s power grid, generation facilities and distribution substations, Zelenskiy said.

“They (Russians) make us live in inhumane conditions,” Oksana Kykhtenko, 42, said in a Kyiv subway station where she and her 10-year-old son slept. “Without heating, without electricity, to sleep in the metro.”

More than 1,000 residential apartment buildings are without heating in bitterly cold temperatures in the capital.

“Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes,” Zelenskiy said. “Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold as leverage against Ukraine.”

Ukrainian military and security officials said that Kyiv had struck an oil depot in Russia’s Saratov region and a plant that makes missile fuel components in the Tver region in western Russia.

MILITARY TEAMS DISCUSS DETAILS

Zelenskiy said military teams had discussed in detail technical aspects of how to monitor a potential ceasefire.

Security guarantees for Ukraine and agreements on economic cooperation, referred to by officials as “the prosperity plan” that outlined Ukraine’s postwar recovery, were also discussed.

Zelenskiy said he had reports from Ukrainian intelligence services on discussions in which Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev had proposed U.S.-Russian co-operation deals worth as much as $12 trillion. Any such agreements between Moscow and Washington must not violate Ukraine’s constitution, he said.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine and Russia remained far apart on territory. He said the U.S. was proposing a free economic zone in the Donetsk region, but that neither Ukraine nor Russia was thrilled by this idea.

Ukraine has said it will not withdraw from territory in the Donetsk region that it still holds.

(Additional reporting by Yurii Kovalenko; Writing by Olena Harmash; Editing by William Mallard, Timothy Heritage and Toby Chopra)