KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, officials reported on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow was ''hesitating'' about another round of U.S.-brokered talks on stopping the fighting.
Washington has proposed further negotiations next week between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Miami or Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, which was the location of the last meeting, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.
Ukraine ''immediately confirmed'' it would attend, he said. ''So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating,'' Zelenskyy told reporters in a messaging app interview late Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that another round of talks was expected ''soon'' but gave no further details.
American officials made no comment on the possibility of further talks as part of a yearlong peace effort by the Trump administration. Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal.
But with Russia's invasion of its neighbor marking its fourth anniversary later this month, disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv over key issues have held up a comprehensive settlement. The issues include who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russia's army has so far occupied, especially in the eastern Donbas industrial heartland, and Moscow's demands for Kyiv to surrender more territory.
Ukraine wants Western-backed security guarantees, including a date for joining the European Union, and a postwar reconstruction package in place before it can contemplate signing a proposed 20-point settlement, Zelenskyy said.
Russia has meanwhile continued to pound Ukrainian civilian areas, including residential areas and the power grid, and Moscow has not responded to a U.S. proposal for an ''energy ceasefire'' that would also halt Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, Zelenskyy said.
