Zelenskiy’s offer of a demilitarised zone came with a condition: Russia would have to pull its forces from an equivalent stretch of land in Donetsk. Zelenskiy portrayed the plan as Ukraine’s best effort to end the war and said it was now up to Russia to decide how to respond. Zelenskiy emphasised that any Ukrainian pullback should be matched by Russia, though the exact size of the proposed zone remains unclear. In Donetsk, he said, the demilitarised zone could include Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two Ukrainian-held cities that form Ukraine’s last main defensive belt in the eastern region. For all these reasons, Zelenskiy said establishing a demilitarised zone would have to be approved by Ukrainians through a referendum.

Source: The Irish Times December 25, 2025 01:35 UTC