Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to announce a spring election and a referendum on a peace deal to end the war with Russia, according to reports.
The Ukrainian president, under mounting pressure from the White House, is set to announce the election plans on 24 February, according to the Financial Times.
It comes after the United States issued a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to finalise a peace agreement in a bid to end the four-year war.
On Friday, Zelensky said: “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.”
“The Americans are in a hurry,” a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Russia continues to insist on Ukraine’s withdrawal from the fiercely contested Donbas region, a condition Kyiv has unequivocally rejected.
More to follow on this breaking news story…