Zelensky makes major concession to end Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to withdraw his forces from the Donbas and establish a demilitarized, free economic zone if Russia did the same, a significant concession by Kyiv on a territory that it has hitherto said it would not relinquish any control of. Ukraine still controls a portion of the eastern Donbas region. Russia controls the rest.

Territorial concessions are the biggest obstacle to a peace agreement that ends Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over control of all of the Donbas, which Kyiv has ruled out, citing constitutional and moral objections. The Kremlin said it would seize the rest by force if necessary, though analysts say this could still take Russia years to achieve.

Revealing the latest 20-point set of proposals for peace, brokered by the Trump administration and which Russia is currently assessing, Zelensky said there are two options that could resolve the territorial dispute, Kyiv’s state-run Ukrinform news agency reported.

The first would be that Ukrainian and Russian troops remain in situ throughout the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and this would become the line of contact monitored by international forces.

But the second option would be the establishment of a free economic zone in a demilitarized Donbas with both Russian and Ukrainian forces withdrawing. It would also require a national referendum in Ukraine for approval.

This is a developing article. Updates to follow.