paul kirbyEuropean Digital Editor
getty imagesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has provided details of an updated peace plan that provides Russia with a possible withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east, as demanded by Moscow.
Outlining details of the 20-point plan agreed to by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators in Florida over the weekend, Zelensky said Russia would respond on Wednesday as soon as the U.S. holds talks with Russia.
Zelenskiy described the plan as “a major framework for ending the war” and said it offered security guarantees from the United States, NATO and European countries for a coordinated military response if Russia invades Ukraine again.
On the key issue in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass, Prime Minister Zelensky said a “free economic zone” was a potential option.
He told reporters that U.S. negotiators were seeking the establishment of a demilitarized zone or free economic zone as Ukraine opposes withdrawal. He emphasized that all areas where Ukrainian troops have withdrawn must be under Ukrainian security.
“There are two choices: either the war continues, or something will have to be decided about all potential economic zones,” Zelenskyy said.
The 20-point plan is seen as an update to the original 28-point document agreed with Russia by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff a few weeks ago. The document is widely seen as largely in line with the Kremlin’s demands.
Russia has insisted that Ukraine withdraw nearly a quarter of its territory east of Donetsk in return for a peace deal. The rest are already under Russian occupation.
Sensitive issues, including territorial issues, must be resolved “at the leadership level,” but the new draft will provide Ukraine with strong security guarantees and a military force of 800,000 men, Zelensky explained.
Much of the updated plan is similar to what came out of recent talks between U.S. negotiators Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Berlin with Ukrainian and European leaders. The setting then shifted to Miami last weekend, where US President Donald Trump’s team held separate talks with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Ukrainian and European officials.
It is now clear that the Ukrainian side has not reached an agreement with the United States, but there appears to be much more detail on the territorial issue.
Zelensky explained that if Ukraine was prepared to withdraw its heavily armed forces by 5, 10 or 40 kilometers from the 25 percent of Donetsk it still holds to create an economic zone, effectively demilitarizing it, then Russia would have to do the same “so 5, 10 and 40 kilometers each.”
Russian forces have now captured the town of Sibersk, about 40 kilometers east of Ukraine’s “fortress belt” cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to be impressed by the kind of compromise proposed in Donetsk. He said that if Ukrainian troops did not withdraw this month, Russia would seize control of all of eastern Ukraine by force.
But Trump is pushing for a deal to end nearly four years of all-out war, and Ukraine’s president believes Russia cannot afford to reject the U.S. plan.
“They can’t say to President Trump, ‘We are against a peaceful solution,’” Zelensky told reporters. “If they try to sabotage everything, President Trump will have to strong-arm us and impose all possible sanctions against them.”
Zelenskiy made it clear that if a free economic zone were to be established in Donetsk, it would be under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian administration and police. “Definitely not the so-called Russian police”. The current front line would then be the border of the economic zone, with international forces stationed on the ground along the line of contact to prevent Russian infiltration.
Russia has so far rejected European offers to monitor a peace deal through a coalition of the willing as “brazen threats.”
Zelenskyy said a referendum should be held on the entire peace plan and that only a referendum could decide on the idea of a potential free economic zone in Donbas.
He emphasized that an economic zone should also be established around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russia, and that Russian troops should withdraw from four other regions of Ukraine, including Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv.
The current U.S. proposal for a nuclear power plant would be jointly operated by Ukraine, the United States and Russia, but Kiev has not agreed to this, Zelenskyy said.
The main thrust of the plan is to reaffirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and propose a non-aggression pact between Russia and its neighbors, complete with monitoring mechanisms.
As well as strong security guarantees that reflect NATO’s Article 5, which requires member states to support allies under attack, Ukraine would be allowed a military force of up to 800,000 men in peacetime.
Because discussions are still ongoing about U.S. plans to receive compensation in return for security guarantees, Zelenskyy said this is not currently part of the document.
There is no mention of banning Ukraine from joining NATO, which was included in the original 28-point plan and has been repeatedly demanded by Russia.
And the latest framework proposes that Ukraine join the European Union with a set accession date. Although it is currently a candidate, several other candidate countries, including Albania, are considered first priority.
There are plans for a Ukrainian investment fund worth around $200bn (£150bn), including both in the US and Europe.
Among other points is the requirement that Ukraine hold elections as soon as possible after the agreement is signed. Both Russia and the United States pushed ahead with the vote despite Ukraine declaring martial law due to a full-scale invasion.
