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Shaun Walker<\/p>\nKey events<\/p>\n
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US wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donbas and create \u2018free economic zone\u2019, says ZelenskyyShaun Walker<\/p>\n
in Kyiv<\/p>\n
The US wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region, and Washington would then create a \u201cfree economic zone\u201d in the parts Kyiv currently controls, Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Previously, the US had suggested Kyiv should hand over<\/a> the parts of Donbas it still controlled to Russia, but the Ukrainian president said on Thursday that Washington had now suggested a compromise version<\/strong> in which Ukrainian troops would withdraw, but Russian troops would not advance into the territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWho will govern this territory<\/strong>, which they are calling a \u2018free economic zone\u2019 or a \u2018demilitarised zone\u2019 \u2013 they don\u2019t know<\/strong>,\u201d said the Ukrainian president, speaking with journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said Ukraine<\/a> did not believe the plan was fair without guarantees that Russian troops would not simply take over the zone<\/strong> after a Ukrainian withdrawal.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said: \u201cIf one side\u2019s 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?<\/strong> This is all very serious. It\u2019s not a fact that Ukraine<\/a> would agree to it, but if you are talking about a compromise then it has to be a fair compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n He said if Ukraine did agree to such a scheme, there would need to be elections or a referendum to ratify it,<\/strong> saying that only \u201cthe Ukrainian people\u201d could make decisions on territorial concessions.<\/p>\n Under the US plans, said Zelenskyy, Ukraine would withdraw from Donbas, where Russia is advancing, while the frontlines would be frozen in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.<\/strong> Russia would give up a few small pockets of land it controls in other regions.<\/p>\n Map of Ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n Zelenskyy has been under immense pressure from Donald Trump<\/strong> to sign up to the US peace plan. In recent days Trump has attacked Zelenskyy, claiming he \u201chas not even read\u201d the draft peace plan and suggesting he lacks legitimacy<\/a> and Ukraine should hold an election.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian negotiating team had sent their revised plan back to Washington on Wednesday,<\/strong> and that questions over territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were two of the remaining sticking points. \u201cIt\u2019s not the final plan; it\u2019s a reaction to what we received \u2026 the plan is constantly being worked on and edited, and this is a continuous process that is still going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If Washington and Kyiv do agree, the much bigger question remains of whether Vladimir Putin<\/a> is really ready to sign a deal<\/strong> or is merely buying time with fake negotiations and hoping to continue his military advance over the winter.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Let\u2019s quickly remind ourselves on what is in the latest US proposal,<\/strong> as disclosed by Ukraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Morning opening: The softest of pushbacks The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen<\/a>, has delivered the softest of push<\/strong>backs to US president Donald Trump last night<\/strong>, telling him off in abstract terms for the suggestion that the US could try to influence elections in various EU countries.<\/p>\n Von der Leyen and Trump at the US president\u2019s Turnberry golf course in Scotland earlier this year. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin\/AP<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not on us, when it comes to elections, to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of this country \u2026 That\u2019s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected,\u201d she told Politico.<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m sure Trump is quaking in his boots.<\/p>\n![\"Jakub](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765531941_998_Jakub_Krupa.png\")
Jakub Krupa<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\n