Zelensky rejects US economic zone plan and presents 20-point counterproposal

Friday 12 December 2025 - 15:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Zelensky rejects US economic zone plan and presents 20-point counterproposal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has introduced a detailed 20-point peace initiative that rejects the United States’ suggestion to establish a “free economic zone” in the Donbas region as part of a broader ceasefire framework. The counterproposal, outlined on Thursday in Kyiv, seeks to reassert Ukraine’s conditions for peace and to address concerns that the earlier US-backed plan would concede too much to Moscow.

Zelensky questioned the logic behind the proposal, emphasizing that it lacked clarity on who would govern the area once Ukrainian forces withdrew. “They imagine Ukrainian troops leaving Donetsk, while Russian forces simply agree not to enter. Yet no one can explain who ensures control or security,” he told reporters. He stressed that any decision related to territory must first be approved by Ukrainian citizens through a national referendum.

The president reiterated that Kyiv would only consider a settlement anchored in binding international guarantees ratified by the US Congress. Zelensky argued that previous accords, such as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, had failed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty from Russian aggression and warned against repeating the same mistake.

Shortly afterward, the Kremlin hardened its stance. Yuri Ushakov, senior foreign policy aide to President Vladimir Putin, declared that Moscow would accept a ceasefire only if Ukraine withdrew completely from Donbas. “If this is not achieved diplomatically, it will be achieved by force,” Ushakov said in an interview with the Russian daily Kommersant, adding that Russian security forces would remain in the region to “maintain stability.”

The escalating exchanges come as political divisions widen in Washington. A Republican rift over Russia policy has become increasingly visible, with President Donald Trump pushing a national security strategy favoring a rapid peace accord and reduced US engagement in Europe. Yet the Republican-controlled congressional defense committees have reaffirmed military and financial support for Ukraine, authorizing $800 million in aid over two years and preventing the Pentagon from reducing US troop levels in Europe below 76,000.

Zelensky also disclosed that discussions are ongoing with the United States regarding shared oversight of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and limited Russian withdrawals from small border segments in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. He made clear, however, that national elections in Ukraine remain impossible until a full and verifiable ceasefire has been reached.