Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland if Russia also withdraws and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone overseen by international forces.
The proposal, which would remove one of the biggest obstacles to ending Russia’s war, must also be put to a referendum.
A similar regulation is possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelensky said.
Zelensky spoke to reporters on Tuesday to describe a 20-point overarching plan Negotiators from Ukraine and the USA agreed on this in Florida in recent daysalthough he said many details were still being worked out.
American negotiators have since held a series of separate talks with Ukraine and Russia US President Donald Trump last month unveiled a plan to end the war – a proposal widely seen as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighboring country nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to bring the plan closer to Kiev’s position.
Among the most difficult points in the negotiations are deciding what to do with Ukraine’s Donbass region, most of which Russia has taken over, and how to manage Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would present its position based on information received from Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to provide further details.
Russia has given no indication that it would agree to withdraw its troops from the territories it has conquered. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine give up its remaining territory in Donbas – an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk – the two areas that make up Donbas.
Zelensky admitted that gaining control of the region was “the most difficult point.” He said these matters should be discussed at the leadership level.
In addition to saying the plan must be put to a referendum, Zelenskyy also said an international force must be stationed in the region.
Meanwhile, the USA has proposed a consortium for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant Ukraine and Russiain which each party would have an equal share. Zelensky countered with a proposal for a U.S.-Ukraine joint venture in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving part of it to Russia.
Zelensky admitted that the US had not yet accepted Ukraine’s counterproposals.
“We have not reached consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelensky said, using an acronym for the Zaporizhia power plant. “But we have brought most of the positions much closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”
A compromise on the free economic zone
Creating a free economic zone in Donbass would require difficult discussions about how far troops would have to withdraw and where international forces would be stationed, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that a referendum was necessary. “Because then people could choose: Does this ending suit us or not?”
Such a vote would last 60 days, he added, during which time hostilities should cease.
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The US-Ukraine working draft also calls for Russian forces to withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
Zelensky imagines that international forces could be stationed at certain points on the contact line within the free economic zone to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
“Since there is no trust in the Russians and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s line of contact is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one enters there under any cover – neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military men disguised as civilians,” Zelensky said.
Management of the Zaporizhia power plant
Ukraine also proposes to make the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is closest to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelensky said.
This point required 15 hours of talks with the US and no agreement was reached.
For now, the U.S. is proposing that the facility be operated jointly by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side controlling a 33 percent stake in the company – a plan that Zelensky described as “not entirely realistic.”
“How can you end up having joint trade with the Russians?” he asked.
Ukraine instead proposed operating the plant through a joint venture with the United States, in which the Americans could independently determine how to distribute the energy from their 50 percent share.
Zelensky said billions of dollars in investment would be needed to restart the power plant, including restoring the adjacent dam.
A separate appendix for security guarantees
The working draft ensures that Ukraine receives “strong” security guarantees that would oblige Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would reflect NATO’s Article 5, which states that an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.
Zelensky said a separate document with the US would spell out these guarantees. It details the conditions for ensuring security, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian attack, and sets up a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed at the same time as the main agreement to end the war, Zelensky said.
“The mood in the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step on their part towards Ukraine. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements, including maintaining the peacetime strength of the Ukrainian army at 800,000 men and requiring Ukraine to become a member of the European Union by a certain date. Limiting the size of the Ukrainian military is a key demand of Russia.
Elections and stimulating the economy
The document proposes to accelerate a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the USA. The US wants the same agreement with Russia, said Zelensky.
In the short term, Ukraine wants to gain privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to invest in sectors such as technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, and gas.
Other points include providing funds for the reconstruction of war-torn areas through various means, including grants, loans and investment funds.
“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for the distribution of its share of funds in the territories controlled by Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
The goal is to attract $800 billion through private sector equity, grants, loans and contributions.
The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the agreement is signed. Zelensky’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were postponed due to the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seized on this – even if the postponement was legal – and it has caused tensions with Trump, who has criticized the delay.
Ukraine also calls for the immediate release of all prisoners held since 2014, as well as the return of civilian, political and children to Ukraine. Russia illegally seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and since this year Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed forces have also been fighting in Donbass.
