Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Signals Openness to Demilitarized Zone

What Happened?

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy made public a new version of a peace plan in which he would be willing to withdraw troops from portions of eastern Ukraine if Russia did the same. In order to create a demilitarized zone between the two combatants and end the war. The draft plan offered by Mr. Zelenskyy has not yet been approved by Russia, and it contains an additional twenty points.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov did not address the points in the new plan directly, but he said, ‘Russia’s demands are well known to our colleague in the United States.’

Why it Matters

The willingness of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to accept a demilitarized zone in eastern Ukraine is the first time he has publicly floated the idea of potentially ceding territory to bring about an end to the war. If a demilitarized zone were to be established in eastern Ukraine, it could be similar to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, which has been in place for over seventy years. 

If you’re already spending money on Amazon, it makes sense to get something back. This card gives Amazon Prime members the chance to earn cash back on every purchase — plus unlock a welcome bonus worth hundreds.

Approval decision could happen extremely fast, and if approved, the bonus is deposited directly into your Amazon account for immediate use. There’s no extra spending requirement and no special hoops to jump through.

Beyond the bonus, the card lets you earn cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases throughout the year. That means groceries, gifts, and household items all earn rewards without changing how you shop.

Considering how much most households spend on Amazon, this card could quickly become one of the most valuable tools in your wallet. The offer won’t last forever, and for Prime members, it’s about as close to a no-brainer as it gets.

Amazon Prime members: See what you could get, no strings attached.

According to the new draft peace plan put forward by Mr. Zelenskyy, the demilitarized zone would also be an economic free zone not under the control of Russia or Ukraine. The plan did not specify exactly which portions of Ukraine would be included in such a move, but it is likely that the eastern most parts of the country would constitute the bulk of it. That would encompass the Donbas region, which is where the fighting between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014. 

At the core of the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine is a territorial dispute over the lands in the east, which make up roughly twenty percent of Ukraine’s total territory. Donbas, a heavily industrialized area in the eastern most portion of Ukraine, has been claimed by both Russia and Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. The Donbas region contains large numbers of ethnic Russians, many of whom have openly said they would prefer to be part of Russia instead of Ukraine.

But not all Ukrainians feel that way, and not all ethnic Russians share that sentiment. Max Kovalov, who is a professor of international relations at the University of Charleston, said, ‘I am ethnic Russian, but I am also a Ukrainian nationalist.’ That sentiment is also common in eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas region. Such divided loyalties and identities represent the main reason why simply parceling out land to be controlled by Russia or Ukraine is unlikely to bring change or security to the region.

How it Affects You

The willingness of Ukraine to accept some loss of territory is likely an indication that the Ukrainian population is tired of the fighting and wants to bring an end to the war, even if it means giving up land. But the new peace plan would also require Russia to withdraw its troops from eastern Ukraine, something the Kremlin has thus far been unwilling to consider.