UKRAINIANS could vote on whether to surrender land to Russia – in a last-ditch effort from President Zelensky to break the peace negotiations deadlock.
Russia has long demanded Ukraine hand over the whole of the Donbas region in exchange for peace – and that decision could now fall to the people through a referendum.
Zelensky has long said he has no “constitutional” or “moral” right to cede Ukrainian land. He said today that Ukrainians should have the final word.
The president said: “The Russians want the whole of Donbas — we don’t accept that.
“I believe that the Ukrainian people will answer this question. Whether in the form of elections or a referendum, the Ukrainian people must have a say.”
Diplomats from Ukraine, Europe, the US, and Russia have been embroiled in complex negotiations for months, exchanging proposals and counter-proposals in an effort to reach a consensus.
But all of them have snagged on one key issue: land concessions.
A chasm remains between the Ukrainian and Russian positions on this – and as such, peace has always felt out of reach.
Zelensky said the status of the eastern Donetsk region and future control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were the two key points of contention in the peace talks.
And that the US is still pushing for Kyiv to make big territorial concessions to Russia to halt the war.
Speaking to reporters, he said Washington wants only Ukraine to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region, where it would install a demilitarised buffer between the two armies.
“They see Ukrainian forces leaving the territory of Donetsk region, and the supposed compromise is that Russian forces do not enter this territory … which they already call a ‘free economic zone’,” he said.
Earlier this week, he had already pledged to hold elections within a matter of months – provided Ukraine gets suitable security guarantees from the US.
They would also need help from Trump to ensure Putin doesn’t stick his paws in and interfere, he said.
The weary Ukrainian president revealed his officials have already responded to the latest US peace proposal – and he set out some of the Americans’ new suggestions.
He said the US had proposed the creation of a “free economic zone” – that would require both Ukraine and Russia to avoid contested areas around the frontline in the east.
The current plan would also see Russia withdraw from the Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, and Ukraine has demanded that Putin hand Zaporizhzhia to the US, Zelensky said.
Moscow would also stay where it is in the south of the country, but pull some of its troops out of Ukrainian regions that Putin has not claimed to have annexed in the north.
Zelensky’s remarks appear to show little has changed in Washington’s core position on how the conflict should end since it sent a 28-point plan to Kyiv and Moscow last month that heavily favoured Russia.
Ukraine has been revising that and this week sent a 20-point counter-proposal to Washington, the full details of which have not been published.
In 2022, Russia claimed to formally annex the Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, despite not having full control over them.
Ukraine’s troops still hold around one-fifth of the Donetsk region, according to data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Much of eastern and southern Ukraine has been decimated by fighting.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes.
Russia, which has the numerical advantage in manpower and weapons, has been grinding forward on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Putin vowed to seize the Donbass region by force if no peace deal was found, just days after also threatening he was “ready” to fight Europe.
Nato chief Mark Rutte has urged the West to prepare for war “like our grandparents endured”.
Speaking at a security conference event in Berlin, Rutte said: “We are Russia‘s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent.
“Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.
“Conflict is at our door. Russia has brought war back to Europe. And we must be prepared.”
Rutte predicted that Russia could engage the alliance in direct conflict within the next five years.