Zelensky presents new 20-point Ukraine peace plan drafted with US negotiators
Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday revealed the latest version of a US-led draft plan to end Russia's invasion.
The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators after a weekend of talks in Miami, was being reviewed by Moscow, but the Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its territorial demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east.
Zelensky conceded there are some points in the document that he does not like, but Kyiv has succeeded in removing the immediate requirement for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region and recognition of land seized by Russia.
It also got rid of demands that Kyiv must legally renounce its bid for NATO membership.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian leader conceded the proposal would pave the way for Kyiv to pull some troops back, including from the 20% of the Donetsk region that it controls, where demilitarized zones would be established.
Zelensky presented the plan during a two-hour briefing with journalists, reading from a highlighted and annotated version.
"In the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the line of troop deployment as of the date of this agreement is de facto recognized as the line of contact," 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.
"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," Zelensky said.
"They are looking for a demilitarized zone or a free economic zone, meaning a format that could satisfy both sides."
Ukraine to hold referendum on "special economic zones"
US President Trump is trying to broker an to end the four-year war, triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion, but Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness to compromise, doubling down on demands for a sweeping Ukrainian withdrawal and a string of political concessions that Kyiv and its European backers have previously cast as capitulation.
Any plan that involves Ukraine pulling back its troops would need to pass a referendum in Ukraine, Zelensky insisted.
On NATO, he said: "It is the choice of NATO members whether to have Ukraine or not. Our choice has been made. We moved away from the proposed changes to the Constitution of Ukraine that would have prohibited Ukraine from joining NATO."
Nevertheless, the prospects of Ukraine being admitted to the bloc appear slim-to-none, as it has been ruled out by Washington.
The plan also sees joint US-Ukrainian-Russian management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian troops. Zelensky said he does not want any Russian oversight of the facility.
He also revealed Ukraine would hold presidential elections only after an agreement is signed – something both Putin and Trump have been pushing for.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow was "formulating its position" and declined to comment on the specifics of the latest plan.
Cover photo: Photo by HANDOUT / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE / AFP