The Office of the President (OP) of Ukraine denied a report by the French publication Le Monde, which wrote that Ukraine was allegedly ready to agree to the creation of a buffer zone in the eastern regions as part of peace negotiations.
In its material, Le Monde refers to the words of the advisor to the head of the OP Mykhailo Podoliak and writes that Kyiv agrees to the creation of a demilitarized zone on both sides of the demarcation line, which is one of the key points of negotiations with the US.
However, the press service of the OP says that the publication provided an "incorrect translation and presentation" of Podoliakʼs words.
In a comment to journalists, Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential advisor on communications, explained that in fact, the advisor to the head of the OP was saying in general that various things can be discussed, but the question is always in the details, how it can work.
"Whether Ukraine agreed or not can be decided only at the highest political level or by the people of Ukraine," Lytvyn said.
This opinion was also expressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with journalists on December 11, which Babel attended. In particular, Zelensky said that the issue of territories will be decided by the people of Ukraine in elections or a referendum.
He added that the Russians want all of Donbas, but Ukraine rejects this. The Americans are looking for a format called a “free economic zone”, while the Russians are looking for a “demilitarized zone” — Ukrainian troops withdraw from all territories of the Donetsk region, while Russian troops do not enter it. Ukraine insists on either a freeze along the current demarcation line or a mutual withdrawal of troops.
Peace plan for Ukraine
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. It provided for the recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as de facto Russian.
After a series of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners in Geneva starting on November 23, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account the Ukrainian position.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war according to the formula "all for all" and to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
The US also agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the issue of territories was put on hold.
The next meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations took place on November 30 in Florida. The United States was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trumpʼs special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trumpʼs son-in-law Jared Kushner.
After the meeting, Serhiy Kyslytsia wrote that the start of the negotiations in Florida was "good," and added that "the warm atmosphere promotes progress".
Later, on December 2, Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow for talks with the Russian side on a peace plan for Ukraine. No concrete decisions were made at the talks, although Russia called the meeting “successful”.
NBC, citing a Russian source, reported that the Kremlin will not make concessions on three issues: the territories of the Donetsk region, limitations on the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and international recognition of the territories seized by Russia. But Russia is ready to be flexible on the issue of Russian assets frozen in the EU.
After that, on December 6, Zelensky held a final two-hour phone call with Trump representatives Witkoff and Kushner. According to Axios sources, the most difficult topics during the conversation were the territories and US security guarantees for Ukraine.
At press conferences on December 8 and 9, Zelensky commented on the state of the “peace plan.” He reported that the American “peace plan” had been reduced from 28 to 20 points — “blatantly unpro-Ukrainian points” had disappeared. The issues of territories where no compromise was found, the question of where European funds should be attracted, and the question of security guarantees remain.
There are currently three documents on peace. A framework document with 20 points — it is constantly changing. The second document is on security guarantees, between Ukraine and the US and Ukraine and the Europeans. The third document concerns the recovery after the ceasefire.
On December 9, Axios, citing sources, wrote that Trumpʼs latest proposal contained stricter conditions than previous ones, in particular regarding territories and control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
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