Russia’s central demands are for Ukraine to abandon its ambition to join NATO – which was a distant prospect before Moscow launched its all-out invasion of the country in February 2022 – and for Kyiv’s military to withdraw fully from Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a vast area known as the Donbas. It was here that the Kremlin started destabilizing Ukraine in 2014, helping pro-Russian separatists gain control of most of the area. The Donbas was eventually illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022.
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Zelensky has offered concessions on both issues. During a wide-ranging press conference Tuesday to discuss the new 20-point peace plan, Zelensky said Ukraine was seeking security guarantees from its allies that would “mirror” NATO’s Article 5 – which requires all members to defend any member that has come under attack – but would no longer pursue full membership of the military alliance.
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Zelensky also said Ukraine would be willing to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region not currently occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian leader said any withdrawal of troops would have to be reciprocal, with Moscow giving up as much Ukrainian territory as that ceded by Kyiv and those pockets of the Donbas becoming demilitarized as a result. Earlier this month, Zelensky noted that US negotiators wanted these territories to become “free economic zones” once all troops were withdrawn.
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Ukraine’s constitution requires any changes to the country’s borders to be approved in a referendum. Zelensky reiterated Friday that “the fate of Ukraine should be decided by the people of Ukraine” and said Ukraine’s allies “have enough power to force Russia or to negotiate with the Russians” to ensure that any such plebiscite could be carried out safely.