Zelenskyy says he has opened a free economic zone in eastern Ukraine – National
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the eastern industrial zone if Russia also withdrew and the area became a free economic zone guarded by international forces.
This proposal, which will face one of the biggest obstacles to ending the war in Russia, must also be put to a referendum.
A similar arrangement could be made in the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently controlled by Russia, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy spoke to reporters on Tuesday to explain the 20-point plan negotiated by Ukrainian and US negotiators in Florida in recent days, though he said many details were still being worked out.
US negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since US President Donald Trump unveiled a ceasefire plan last month – a proposal widely seen as favorable to Moscow, which attacked its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to bring the program closer to Kyiv.
Deciding what will happen to Ukraine’s Donbas region, most of which Russia has taken over, and how Europe’s largest nuclear power plant will be managed are some of the most difficult points in the negotiations.
Asked about this plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow will present its opinion based on the information received by the ambassador of the Russian president, Kirill Dmitriev, who met with the American delegation in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share more details.
Russia has given no indication that it will accept any kind of withdrawal of its troops from the world it has taken. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it holds in Donbas – a conclusion that Ukraine has rejected. Russia holds most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk – the two areas that make up Donbas.
Zelenskyy admitted that gaining control of the region is “a very difficult point.” He said these issues must be discussed at the level of leaders.
In addition to the fact that this plan must be included in the referendum, Zelenskyy said that an international force must be deployed in the region.
Meanwhile, in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, the US has proposed a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, where each party will have an equal share. Zelenskyy opposed the proposal of cooperation between the US and Ukraine, where the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving Russia the rest.
Zelenskyy acknowledged that the US has not yet accepted Ukraine’s counter-proposals.
“We did not reach an agreement with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and the ZNPP,” Zelenskyy said, using the abbreviation of the Zaporizhzhia power center. “But we made most of the positions closer to each other. In fact, all other agreements in this agreement were found between us and them.”
The harmony of the free economic zone
Creating a free economic zone in Donbas will require difficult negotiations about where the troops will have to return and where international forces will be stationed, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said the referendum is necessary. “Because people can then choose: does this end suit us, or not?”
Such a vote would require 60 days, he added, when the war must end.
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The US-Ukraine working draft also suggests that Russian forces withdraw from the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy is of the opinion that international power can be found around certain points of contact within the free economic zone in order to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
“Since there is no faith in the Russian people, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s line of communication is turning into a line of de facto economic territory, and the forces of the world must be there to ensure that no one will enter there under any circumstances – ‘little green men’ or Russian soldiers disguised as civilians,” said Zelenskyy.
Managing the Zaporizhzhia power plant
Ukraine is also proposing the populous city of Enerhodar, a town near the Zaporizhzhia power plant, as a free economic zone, Zelenskyy said.
This point required 15 hours of negotiations with the US, he said, and no agreement was reached.
Currently, the US is proposing that the plant be operated jointly by Ukraine, the US and Russia, each side controlling a 33 percent stake in the business – a plan Zelenskyy called “completely untrue.”
“How can you have joint trade with the Russians after all?” he asked.
Ukraine instead suggested that the plant be used jointly with the US where the Americans can independently decide how to distribute the energy with their 50 percent share.
Zelenskyy said billions of investments are needed to make the plant operational again, including restoring the nearby dam.
Separate attachment of security guarantees
The draft guarantees that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees, which would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would be similar to Article 5 of NATO, which states that an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.
Zelenskyy said a separate document with the US would clearly outline these guarantees. It will specify the conditions under which protection will be provided, especially in the event of a renewed Russian attack, and will establish a mechanism for monitoring any ceasefire. This document will be signed at the same time as the main agreement to end the war, Zelenskyy said.
“The position of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are providing strong security guarantees,” he said.
The draft contains other elements including keeping the Ukrainian army at 800,000 during peacetime and for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union on a certain date. Limiting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces is a key requirement for Russia.
Elections and economic development
The document proposes to accelerate the free trade agreement between Ukraine and the US The US wants a similar agreement with Russia, said Zelenskyy.
Ukraine would like to receive temporary special access to the European market and a strong global development package that will include the creation of a development fund to invest in industries including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, and gas.
Other points include the provision of funds for the reconstruction of war-torn areas in various forms including grants, loans and investment funds.
“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for the distribution of its share of funds in the territories controlled by Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy.
The goal will be to attract $800 billion in equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.
The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the agreement is signed. Zelenskyy’s five-year term was supposed to end in May 2024, but the election was postponed due to the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has held that – even if the postponement was legal – and it has caused tension with Trump, who has criticized the delay.
Ukraine also requests that all prisoners taken since 2014 be released at once, and that non-communist prisoners, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine. Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed forces have been fighting in Donbas since that year.
