When a country starts talking about demilitarized zones on its own soil, the leverage is already gone. Wars don’t end this way unless someone is running out of options.
Ukraine’s president has floated a possible compromise to a key Russian demand that Kyiv give up territory in eastern Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal could address one of the main sticking points that have bogged down U.S.-led negotiations, but Moscow has given no indication whether it might agree. Nick Schifrin reports.
Washington and Kyiv have edged closer to a jointly agreed formula to end the war in Ukraine amid continuing uncertainty over Moscow’s response and a number of unresolved issues.
Revealing the latest status of the peace talks, brokered by Washington, Ukraine’s president, Volodmyr Zelenskyy, appeared to have secured several important concessions from earlier versions of the now-slimmed-down plan after intense talks with the US negotiating team.
Regardless of whether it is accepted by Moscow, it marks a success for Kyiv in rewriting an earlier US draft that had been criticised as a Kremlin wishlist. Zelenskyy said he expected US negotiators to be in contact with the Kremlin on Wednesday.
In the latest version of the peace plan, Ukraine accepts the principle of a demilitarised zone in its eastern regions, control of which has long been a stumbling block, with the insistence that Russia make a similar pullback of forces.
Details of the proposal have been sent to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, by his envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and a Kremlin spokesperson said Moscow was formulating its response and would not immediately comment publicly.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces. The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations. Washington and Kyiv have edged closer to a jointly agreed formula to end the war amid continuing uncertainty over Moscow’s response. Regardless of whether it is accepted by Moscow, it marks a success for Kyiv in rewriting an earlier US draft that had been criticised as a Kremlin wishlist. Zelenskyy said he expected US negotiators to be in contact with the Kremlin on Wednesday.
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A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, a state pollster said, in a sign that the Kremlin could be testing public reaction to a possible peace settlement as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict intensify. Officials said 70% of the 1,600 respondents saw 2026 as a more “successful” year for Russia than this year, while for 55% that hope was linked to a possible end to what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.