Zelensky reveals US-Ukraine plan to end Russian war, key questions remain
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine won some concessions in the latest version of a United States (US) led draft plan to end the Russian invasion, revealed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, though key questions remain over territory and whether Moscow could accept the new terms.
The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators, was being reviewed by Moscow, but the Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its hardline territorial demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east.
Zelensky conceded there are some points in the document that he does not like, but Kyiv has succeeded in removing immediate requirements for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region or that land seized by Moscow’s army would be recognised as Russian.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian leader still indicated the proposal would pave the way for Kyiv to pull some troops back, including from the 20 per cent of the Donetsk region that it controls, where demilitarised zones would be established.
It also got rid of demands that Kyiv must legally renounce its bid for NATO membership.
Zelensky presented the plan during a two-hour briefing with journalists, reading from a highlighted and annotated version.
“In the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the line of troop deployment as of the date of this agreement is de facto recognised as the line of contact,” Zelensky said of the latest version.
“A working group will convene to determine the redeployment of forces necessary to end the conflict, as well as to define the parameters of potential future special economic zones,” he added.
This appears to suggest the plan opens the way for, but delays, options that Ukraine was previously reluctant to consider — a withdrawal of troops and the creation of demilitarised zones.
“We are in a situation where the Russians want us to withdraw from the Donetsk region, while the Americans are trying to find a way,” Zelensky said.
“They are looking for a demilitarised zone or a free economic zone, meaning a format that could satisfy both sides,” he continued.
