Trump wants Ukraine war to end by June: Zelensky

US President Donald Trump wants the war between Russia and Ukraine to end by June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He said the US has set a deadline for both countries to reach an agreement to end the nearly four-year conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Kiev on Friday (February 6), Zelensky said, “The Americans are proposing that Russia and Ukraine end the war by the beginning of this summer and, perhaps, they will put pressure on both sides according to this specific timetable.” However, his comments were not to be broadcast until Saturday (February 7).

Zelensky said the Trump administration has insisted on a specific deadline for all events. They have proposed the next round of trilateral talks in the United States next week (possibly in Miami). Ukraine has already confirmed its participation.

Trump boasted of ending the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. But more than a year later, a peace deal remains elusive. Critics accuse Trump of being swayed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war rhetoric and overreaching demands.

The new deadline came after US-brokered trilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. But the talks made little progress, with both sides insisting on their conflicting demands.

The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the industrialized eastern Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk), where the most fierce fighting is currently taking place. Kiev has firmly rejected that demand. The Ukrainian constitution also prohibits Russia from giving up the eastern territory it claims.

The two sides have agreed to exchange 157 prisoners of war. The Russian Defense Ministry, along with Ukrainian and US officials, confirmed that the exchange took place on February 5. Zelensky also said on Saturday that prisoner exchanges with Russia would continue under the deal.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the American mediation team with Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, said on Thursday that while “significant work remains” in the peace talks, the prisoner swaps showed that “uninterrupted diplomatic engagement is producing tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.”

However, US officials have not said what action they will take if a resolution is not reached by the deadline. There has been no official Russian statement on the matter.