Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to withdraw troops from parts of eastern Ukraine under a peace plan backed by the United States.
The Ukrainian president is considering giving up military control of the Donbas region to create a demilitarised “economic free zone” that would act as a buffer with Russian-held territory.
Mr Zelensky said he would put the plans to a national referendum if Russia also agree to pull back its forces from the region.
The offer is the closest he has come to a compromise on ceding territory – an issue that has seen US-led peace talks stutter for weeks. However, Ukrainians are unlikely to agree to giving up land in a public vote.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/24/zelensky-says-ukraine-could-leave-donbas/
The offer was the closest Mr. Zelensky has come to addressing the thorny territorial disputes in Donetsk that have repeatedly derailed peace talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told reporters on Tuesday that he was ready to pull his troops back from areas of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyiv’s control and turn those areas into a demilitarized zone as part of a possible peace deal with Moscow.
The offer was the closest Mr. Zelensky has come to addressing the thorny territorial disputes in Donetsk that have repeatedly derailed peace talks, signaling his willingness to compromise after weeks of U.S.-mediated negotiations.