Ukraine’s Zelensky says draft plan freezes front line, opens way for concessions

KYIV - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest version of a plan to end the Russian invasion would freeze the front line, but still pave the way for Ukrainian withdrawals and the creation of demilitarised zones.

Mr Zelensky said the 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators, was being reviewed by Moscow.

The Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its hardline territorial demands, and Mr Zelensky also conceded there are some points in the document that he does not like.

But it appears Kyiv has managed to shift the plan away from

an original 28-point US proposal,

which adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.

That plan had

demanded that Ukraine withdraw

from the 20 per cent of the Donetsk region it still controls and that land occupied by Moscow be recognised as Russian territory.

A requirement for Kyiv to legally renounce its bid to join NATO has also been dropped from the latest plan, though the US has long said it would not admit Ukraine to the bloc.

“In the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the line of troop deployment as of the date of this agreement is de facto recognised as the line of contact,” Mr Zelensky said of the latest version.

“A working group will convene to determine the redeployment of forces necessary to end the conflict, as well as to define the parameters of potential future special economic zones,” he added.

Mr Zelensky shared details of the 20-point plan with journalists in a briefing in Kyiv on Dec 23, published early on the morning of Dec 24.

This appears to suggest the plan opens the way for, but delays, options that Ukraine was previously reluctant to consider – a withdrawal of troops and the creation of demilitarised zones.

“We are in a situation where the Russians want us to withdraw from the Donetsk region, while the Americans are trying to find a way,” Mr Zelensky said.

“They are looking for a demilitarised zone or a free economic zone, meaning a format that could satisfy both sides,” he continued.

Ukraine also suggested Energodar, a city occupied by Russia that manages the Zaporizhzhia power plant, could become a demilitarised zone.

Any plan that involves Ukraine pulling back its troop would need to pass a referendum in Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said.

“A free economic zone. If we are discussing this, then we need to go to a referendum,” Mr Zelensky said.

The plan also sees joint US-Ukrainian-Russian management of the Zaporizhzhia plant, occupied by Russian troops. Mr Zelensky said he does not want any Russian oversight of the facility.

He also said Ukraine would hold presidential elections only after an agreement is signed. AFP