THE GUARDIAN: Ukrainian president says plan would not be fair without guarantees that Russia would not simply take over zone
The US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region, and Washington would then create a “free economic zone” in the parts Kyiv currently controls, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
Previously, the US had suggested Kyiv should hand over the parts of Donbas it still controlled to Russia, but the Ukrainian president said on Thursday that Washington had now suggested a compromise version in which Ukrainian troops would withdraw, but Russian troops would not advance into the territory.
“Who will govern this territory, which they are calling a ‘free economic zone’ or a ‘demilitarised zone’ – they don’t know,” said the Ukrainian president, speaking with journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not believe the plan was fair without guarantees that Russian troops would not simply take over the zone after a Ukrainian withdrawal.
Zelenskyy said: “If one side’s troops have to retreat and the other side stays where they are, then what will hold back these other troops, the Russians? Or what will stop them disguising themselves as civilians and taking over this free economic zone? This is all very serious. It’s not a fact that Ukraine would agree to it, but if you are talking about a compromise then it has to be a fair compromise.” » | Shaun Walker in Kyiv | Thursday, December 11, 2025
