Moscow <\/a>Wednesday after the US side engages with the Kremlin.\n <\/p>\n\n The draft 20-point agreement represents a slimmed-down version of an original 28-point plan the US previously discussed with the Russian side. In his remarks, Zelensky outlined what the Ukrainian side says would be an acceptable compromise for withdrawing its troops from portions of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine that are currently not held by Russian forces.\n <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-11-26t185146z-1731506761-rc2c4iavqmxz-rtrmadp-3-ukrane-crisis-kramatorsk.jpg\")
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\n That area includes the \u201cfortress belt\u201d of fortified Ukrainian cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk region that currently stand in the way of any potential Russian advance deeper into the heart of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine must effectively cede all of Donetsk for a peace plan to work.\n <\/p>\n
\n Detailing his country\u2019s position, the Ukrainian president said Russia would have to engage in a withdrawal of its forces equivalent to ground ceded by Ukrainian troops, effectively establishing a demilitarized zone around some of the present front lines.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIf we establish a free economic zone here, and it envisages a virtually demilitarized zone, \u2013 meaning heavy forces are removed from this area \u2013 and the distance, for example, is 40 kilometers (it could be five, 10, or 40 kilometers) \u2013 then if these two cities, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, are our free economic zone, the Russians would have to pull back their troops accordingly by five, 10, or 40 kilometers,\u201d Zelensky said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Among the other key points of the draft plan outlined by Zelensky, including proposed revisions by Kyiv:\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 An affirmation of Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and a non-aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine;\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 Security guarantees provided to Ukraine by the United States, NATO, and European states that Zelensky said would \u201cmirror Article 5\u201d \u2013 NATO\u2019s cornerstone principle of mutual self-defense. The plan would call for a military response and reinstatement of sanctions on Moscow if Russia invades Ukraine, but the guarantees would be rescinded if Ukraine launches an attack on Russia or opens fire on Russian territory without provocation;\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 A development package to support Ukraine\u2019s postwar economic recovery, including establishment of a Ukraine Development Fund to invest in technology, data centers, and artificial intelligence as well as investment in Ukraine\u2019s natural gas sector by US companies. Zelensky estimated the overall economic losses caused by the war to be $800 billion;\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 A compromise proposal for the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russia. Zelensky said Ukraine proposes the plant would be operated by a joint enterprise between the US and Ukraine, with 50% of the electricity output going to Ukraine and the remainder allocated by the US;\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 The withdrawal of Russian troops from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine;\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 A legally binding agreement, with implementation monitored and guaranteed by a Peace Council chaired by US President Donald Trump; and\n <\/p>\n
\n \u2022 A full ceasefire taking effect immediately once all parties agree to the deal.\n <\/p>\n
\n Control of territory is the most complex point of any deal, along with the potential sequencing of events. Zelensky also spoke at length about a potential nationwide referendum in Ukraine that would formalize the end of the war.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cPeople could then choose: does this ending suit us, or does it not?\u201d he said. \u201cThat would be the referendum. A referendum requires at least 60 days. And we need a real ceasefire for 60 days; otherwise, we cannot hold it. In other words, the referendum would not be legitimate.\n <\/p>\n
\n People living in territories controlled by Russia, Zelensky said, cannot be expected to cast a fair vote.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cBut in the territory we control, where a legal and fair referendum can actually be conducted, the voting and preparation process \u2013 just as, by the way, with the potential elections our partners talk about \u2013 must take place under secure conditions,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout security, legitimacy is in question as well. We explain all of this to our partners.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-12-23t101115z-930850387-rc29miabtjc9-rtrmadp-3-ukraine-crisis-attack-kyiv.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
\n Ukraine has been under pressure to hold elections as soon as possible after an agreement is signed. Putin has long maintained that the government in Kyiv is not legitimate and that Ukraine must hold elections for a peace deal to work. Zelensky\u2019s presidential term expired in 2024, but elections cannot be held under martial law that was imposed after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Those wartime measures that have been upheld by the Ukrainian parliament.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Trump <\/a>administration\u2019s peace effort \u2013 led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner \u2013 has been slowly inching forward in recent weeks. Over the weekend, a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian National Security Secretary Rustem Umerov and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev met separately with their American counterparts in talks that Witkoff described as \u201cconstructive and productive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n\n Speaking to reporters Wednesday on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Dmitriev gave Putin \u201ca detailed briefing on the results of his trip to Miami. Based on this information, Moscow will formulate its next steps and continue contacts in the very near future through existing channels.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Peskov declined to discuss specifics, saying Moscow considered it \u201ccounterproductive\u201d to discuss negotiations in the press.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled new willingness to make concessions on several key negotiating points that have threatened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-366061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}