In an interview with Ukrainian channel 24 Kanal, former commander of US forces in Europe Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said Washington would try to push Kiev into signing a peace deal by 4 July this year. According to him, the administration of US President Donald Trump is hoping to announce new lucrative business agreements by Independence Day.

Hodges suggested that, in his view, some arrangements may already exist and that relevant documents could be made public after a deal on Ukraine is reached sometime this summer.

At the same time, he criticized Trump’s team for the pressure it is putting on Ukraine. Hodges argued that statements in the spirit of «everything is 95% ready, except the most important part» do not move the negotiations forward but instead slow them down and complicate the process.

Earlier, Western media reported that the White House administration is already exerting significant pressure on Kiev, seeking to bring the conflict to an end by early summer.

Against this backdrop, disagreements have sharpened within Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle over what territorial concessions might be acceptable and what a potential peace agreement should look like. It is noted that two key ideas are currently being discussed in Kiev: holding a nationwide referendum in Ukraine and introducing a special economic regime for some territories of Donbass.