KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces.
The proposal marks the clearest indication yet of the compromises the Ukrainian leader would be willing to make on the Donbas region, control of which is a major sticking point in peace negotiations.
A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelensky said. He said that any peace plan would need to be put to a referendum.
Zelensky spoke to reporters Tuesday to describe a 20-point overarching plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the U.S. hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said that many details are still being discussed.
Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal of its troops from land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would set out its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details.
American negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since President Trump presented a plan to end the war last month — a proposal widely see as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to pull the plan closer to Kyiv’s position.
Zelensky said that figuring out control of the Donbas region is “the most difficult point.”
Meanwhile, on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the U.S. has proposed creating a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake. Zelensky countered with a proposal for joint venture between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia.
Zelensky acknowledged that the U.S. has not yet accepted Ukraine’s counterproposals.
“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelensky said, using an acronym for the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”
A free economic zone compromise
Creating a free economic zone in the Donbas would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and where international forces would be stationed, Zelensky said, adding that it should discussed at the leaders level.
The working U.S.-Ukraine draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions. Zelensky envisions that international forces could be located along certain points of the contact line within the free economic zone to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
“Since there is no faith in the Russians, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s contact line is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one will enter there under any guise — neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military disguised as civilians,” Zelensky said.
Managing the Zaporizhzhia power plant
Ukraine is also proposing that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, become a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelensky said.
This point required 15 hours of discussions with the U.S., he said, and no agreement was reached.
For now, the U.S. proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side controlling a 33% stake in the enterprise — a plan Zelensky called “not entirely realistic.”
“How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” he asked.
Ukraine instead suggested that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the U.S. in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute the energy from their 50% share.
Zelensky said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.
A separate annex for security guarantees
The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees, which would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would mirror NATO’s Article 5, which says an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.
Zelensky said that a separate document with the U.S. will outline these guarantees concretely. It will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian assault, and will establish a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed concurrently with the main agreement to end the war, Zelensky said.
“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peace time and that Ukraine become a member of the European Union by a specific date. Limiting the size of Ukraine’s military is a key Russian demand.
Elections and boosting the economy
The document also proposes accelerating a free-trade agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. The U.S. wants the same deal with Russia, said Zelensky.
Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to solicit outside investment in Ukraine’s industries.
Other points include raising funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction, with the goal of attracting $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.
The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. Zelensky’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were put off due to Russia’s invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seized on that — though the postponement was legal — and it has become a source of tension with Trump, who has criticized the delay.
Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners taken since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine. Russia illegally seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed forces have been fighting in the Donbas since that year as well.
Kullab writes for the Associated Press.
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