Arya News - Ukraine could withdraw its troops from its eastern Donbas regions under a peace deal being considered ahead of talks with US officials.
Ukraine could withdraw its troops from its eastern Donbas regions under a peace deal being considered ahead of talks with US officials.
The compromise would result in Kyiv’s armed forces being pulled back from Donetsk and Luhansk to form a demilitarised zone, as long as Russia agreed to a “reciprocal” retreat.
Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Donald Trump was pushing for the creation of a “free economic zone” between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the mineral-rich province of Donetsk.
Volodymyr Zelensky posted a picture from talks on Wednesday, saying he held a ‘productive discussion’ with Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner and Larry Fink
“They see Ukrainian forces leaving the territory of Donetsk region, and the supposed compromise is that Russian forces do not enter this territory ... which they already call a ‘free economic zone’,” the Ukrainian president told reporters in Kyiv.
Russia would not be required to mirror the withdrawal, or leave the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, under the US plan, Mr Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian president has argued that he does not have the powers to cede territory to Russia, and nor would he go against the will of his people to do so.
But he has instructed his negotiators to work constructively with the US proposals rather than reject them out of hand.
Vladimir Putin and a senior commander Denis Pirogov at a meeting on Thursday to discuss the “special military operation” in Ukraine - Gavriil GRIGOROV/AFP
The latest compromise is likely to be raised in talks between Ukrainian, European and US officials in Paris on Saturday, including on the controversial territorial concessions proposed by Mr Trump.
“It mainly concerns the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make…a question only the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people can answer,” Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, told a news conference in Berlin on Thursday.
He added: “I got the firm impression from this telephone conversation with President Trump yesterday that he is ready to go down this path with us, because he knows that Europeans must also be heard here.”
Russian soldiers laid claim to the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region earlier this month - Russian Defense Ministry Press Service
Mr Merz held talks with his American counterpart, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron earlier this week on the importance of finding a “just and lasting” end to the war in Ukraine.
The phone call came after European and Ukrainian officials finished drawing up a series of counter-proposals to the current American ceasefire strategy.
Steve Witkoff, a US presidential envoy, has been putting pressure on Ukraine to cede the Donbas unilaterally as the price for peace.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump attempted to ratchet up the pressure on Mr Zelensky, insisting he would suffer military defeat if he did not agree to the concession.
An earlier 28-point plan drafted by his envoy, alongside a top Russian official, proposed a demilitarised zone, which would be “internationally recognised as territory belonging to the Russian Federation”.
But Mr Zelensky rejected the proposal, warning it would hand Ukraine’s heavily-defended “fortress belt” to Russia and serve as a springboard for any future invasion.
Under the counter proposal being considered in Kyiv, Ukraine and Russia would agree to a “reciprocal” withdrawal from a marked demilitarised zone, which could remain internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
The borders for the buffer zone are yet to be defined and would only be agreed after direct talks between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump.
A quarter of Donetsk is still under Ukrainian control - Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters
Any talks over the size of the demilitarised zone would likely be a thorny affair given that the 25 per cent of Donetsk still under Ukrainian control is made up of strategically important cities. Areas held by Russia are mostly fields, smaller towns and villages.
Ukraine is also pushing for “parallel” discussions over territory and US security guarantees to discourage any future Russian invasion.
Mr Trump’s aides have so far resisted setting out in writing exactly what the US would do to protect Ukraine if another attack was to happen.
There is still no specific language in the latest version of the peace proposals to be discussed in the French capital this weekend.
The Ukrainian side is expected to make a renewed push for language at the Paris talks, which will be attended by Alex Grynkewich, Nato’s top general.
European leaders are expected to use the talks to secure a greater role for the continent at the negotiating table, after Mr Trump further strained the already fractious transatlantic relationship by claiming they were holding up peace efforts.
“The work we are doing together remains very difficult. Putin continues to ruthlessly mount his brutal war against the civilian population. At the same time, he is playing for time,” Mr Merz said.
“We want a ceasefire that is backed by robust legal and material guarantees. It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his population will not support after four years of suffering and dying,” he added.
However, the German leader claimed he had “no reason to doubt the agreements we have made with the US within the Nato alliance”, as he sought to play down reports of a mounting rift.
Despite Ukraine’s willingness to bend to Mr Trump’s demands, Russia has yet to show any serious signs it would compromise to reach a ceasefire.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said on Thursday that recent talks between Vladimir Putin and Mr Witkoff had “eliminated misconceptions and misunderstandings”, but warned security guarantees “could not be limited only to Ukraine”.
“The Europeans are only talking about making the Americans give Ukraine security guarantees while ignoring all of Russia’s security interests,” he said.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.