Volodymyr Zelensky has officially received a plan from the American side that could intensify diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president’s office said on Thursday evening. With this statement, Kyiv appears to be maintaining a balanced position, neither rejecting nor accepting the plan before moving forward with high-level discussions.
“Volodymyr Zelensky has officially received a draft agreement from the American side which, according to the Americans, could make diplomacy possible,” Zelensky’s office said on Telegram.
The announcement also notes that Zelensky expects to discuss the diplomatic opportunities arising and “the key points required for peace” with Trump in the coming days.
According to the American plan, details of which were leaked yesterday to several international media outlets, the United States and other countries would be required to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea, Donbas, and other territories that Ukraine would be forced to cede.
In return, Kyiv would receive American and European security guarantees, and a demilitarized zone would be created in the areas from which Ukrainian troops withdraw.
According to Axios, which cites an anonymous American official, the line of contact between the warring sides in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions would be “frozen,” and Russia would be forced to return certain areas to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military would be significantly reduced and deprived of long-range weapons, the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine would be prohibited, and Russian would become the official language. Bloomberg reported that the new American plan also provides for lifting sanctions against Russia.
At the same time, sources from the Kyiv Independent reported that Moscow would commit not to attack Ukraine or other European countries in the future, and would enshrine this commitment in Russian law. In the same context, a U.S. official said that Russia is expected to make concessions as part of the proposal, though he did not specify what these might include.
Ask me anything
Explore related questions