Zelensky reveals US-Ukraine plan to end Russian war; key questions remain

KYIV, December 26 ------ Ukraine won some concessions in the latest version of a US-led draft plan to end the Russian invasion, revealed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, though key questions remain over territory and whether Moscow could accept the new terms.

The 20-point plan, agreed on by US and Ukrainian negotiators, was being reviewed by Moscow, but the Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its hardline territorial demands for full Ukrainian withdrawal from the east. Zelensky also conceded there are some points in the document that he does not like. But Kyiv has succeeded in removing immediate requirements for Ukraine to withdraw from the Donetsk region or that land seized by Moscow's army would be recognized as Russian. It also got rid of demands that Kyiv must legally renounce its bid for NATO membership.

And though it is not prescribed in the document, the proposal still paves the way for Ukraine to pull some troops back, including from the 20 percent 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.

This appears to suggest the plan opens the way for, but delays, options that Ukraine was previously reluctant to consider -- a withdrawal of troops and the creation of demilitarized zones. "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," he continued.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com