Laura Gozzi
ReutersThe US has proposed Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region and create a “special economic zone” in the areas it currently controls, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Zelensky said territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remained the two main unresolved issues in the peace plan proposal for Ukraine.
In a sobering briefing to reporters, Zelensky addressed the US desire for a quick end to the conflict, the complex nature of the ongoing negotiations, and his belief that Russia had no desire to stop the war.
Ukraine has sent the US an updated 20-point plan plus separate documents on security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Zelensky said.
It follows weeks of high-level diplomatic activity which has seen several peace plans drawn up, adjusted and revised by the US, Ukraine, Russia and European leaders.
“The final mile is the hardest. Everything could fall apart for many reasons,” Zelensky said on Thursday.
Russia demands that Ukraine relinquishes control of roughly 30% of the eastern Donetsk region it still holds – something Ukraine has refused to do, both on principle and because it fears it would allow Moscow a foothold for future invasions.
According to Zelensky, the US is now envisaging a solution that would see Ukrainian forces withdraw from parts of Donetsk, and Russian forces committing to not advancing into the territory. This area would become a “special economic zone” or a “demilitarised zone”, Zelensky said.
However, he noted that it would not be fair for the Ukrainians to withdraw unilaterally, and that Russia should also pull back by the same distance.
“What will restrain [Russia] from advancing? Or from infiltrating disguised as civilians?” he asked.
Zelensky said these were “very serious concerns” and that Ukraine might not accept the proposal at all – although he opened the door to elections or a referendum to give the Ukrainian people a choice.
But he acknowledged that the fighting would continue and may yet shape the future of the negotiations: “Much depends on our military – what they can hold, where they can stop the enemy, what they can destroy. This affects the entire configuration.”
The management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was another highly contentious point, Zelensky said.
The power plant – Europe’s largest – sits on the front line and has been under Russian control since March 2022.
Zelensky said a possible solution would be for the Russians to withdraw and Kyiv to share control of the plant with the Americans – although he acknowledged that the details of such an arrangement were still unclear, and it is doubtful that Moscow would agree.
US President Donald Trump appears to have grown frustrated with the intricacies of the conflict, and Kyiv and its allies fear the Americans might eventually seek to impose a Russian-led solution on Ukraine.
Zelensky told reporters that although the Americans wanted a “quicker conclusion” to the war, there were no deadlines for an agreement.
Ukraine – which is targeted by widespread aerial attacks on a near-nightly basis – has been pushing for respite and would want an immediate ceasefire to be implemented ahead of a more laborious agreement being fleshed out.
But Russia stands to gain more from a ceasefire being delayed, as its troops continue to make small but incremental gains on the frontline and its attacks exhaust the Ukrainian population.
“After multiple rounds of talks with Russia” the Americans were now aligned on Moscow on this position, Zelensky said.
Kremlin officials have been more tight-lipped than their European, US and Ukrainian counterparts.
However, whenever possible, Russia has sought to cement the impression that Moscow and Washington are aligned on their hopes for the terms of a peace deal.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for trying to broker a deal and said a recent meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin had “eliminated” the “misunderstandings” between the two sides.
The foreign minister also batted off suggestions that Kyiv could be given security guarantees in the form of foreign troops stationed in Ukraine.
“This is yet another return to the sad logic of Zelensky’s so-called peace formula,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had handed the US “additional” proposals on collective security and that Russia was ready to give legal guarantees not to attack Nato or EU countries.
But neither Ukraine nor Europe will be likely to take any promise by Moscow at face value, given Russia has previously violated ceasefires and truce deals.
European and Ukrainian officials want the US to be involved in giving security guarantees so that Kyiv doesn’t become the target of renewed attacks.
Zelensky said he had received a draft proposal on American security guarantees but that the draft was a work in progress, suggesting that what has been offered by the US falls short of provisions that could assuage Kyiv’s fears.
“The US does not want Ukraine in Nato. They say this openly… So I do not think they have difficulties discussing Nato with the Russians,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also said Ukraine had to be “cautious”, adding: “We do not know what other agreements the US may have with Russia. We will learn in time.”
Ukraine’s president also acknowledged that US support for Kyiv may one day end, both in terms of the flow of weapons that the US is selling through other countries and in terms of intelligence sharing.
Reflecting the fraught nature of the talks and his scepticism that Russia was negotiating in good faith, Zelensky told reporters: “No one knows what may happen the day after tomorrow… We do not know how these negotiations will end.”
