Latest peace plan offers possible Ukrainian withdrawal from east, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has provided Russia with details of his updated peace plan, which proposes the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east that Moscow has requested.

Giving details of the 20-item plan agreed upon by US and Ukrainian negotiators in Florida over the weekend, Zelensky said that the Russians will respond after the Americans talk to them.

Describing the plan as “the main framework for ending the war”, Zelensky said it offered security guarantees for a coordinated military intervention from the US, NATO and Europeans in case Russia re-occupies Ukraine.

On the key question about Ukraine’s eastern Donbas, Zelensky said a “free economic zone” was a potential option.

The 20-point plan is seen as an update of the original 28-point document that US envoy Steve Witkoff agreed with the Russians a few weeks ago and is widely thought to address the Kremlin’s demands.

The Russians have insisted that Ukraine withdraw from almost a quarter of its territory in the eastern Donetsk region in exchange for a peace deal. The rest is already under Russian occupation.

Zelensky explained that sensitive issues, including territorial issues, should be resolved “at the level of leaders”, but that the new draft would provide Ukraine with strong security guarantees and a military force of 800,000 people.

He told reporters that U.S. negotiators wanted to establish a demilitarized zone or free economic zone because Ukraine was against withdrawal.

He said: “There are two options: Either the war will continue, or something will have to be decided regarding all the potential economic zones.”

He emphasized that an economic zone should also be established around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russia, and that Russian troops should be withdrawn from four other regions of Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv).