PNN – Volodymyr Zelensky presented a 20-point ceasefire plan to stop the war in Ukraine based on Ukraine’s interests and views.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has presented a 20-point ceasefire plan to stop the war in Ukraine, based on the country’s interests and perspectives, according to a report by Ukraine’s media cited by RIA Novosti. The plan does not include renouncing NATO membership or ceding any Ukrainian territories to Russia.
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The key points of the plan reportedly include:
- Withdrawal of Russian forces from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions, without Ukraine committing to withdraw its own forces from Donbas.
- Returning the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to joint Ukrainian and American control.
- Non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea and Donbas by Russia.
- No clause obliging Ukraine to forgo joining the NATO alliance.
- Seeking security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO charter.
- Stating that joining the European Union remains a strategic objective for Ukraine.
The plan specifies that Kyiv is only prepared to discuss proposals such as creating a U.S.-backed “free economic zone” in Donbas, conditional on holding a nationwide public referendum in Ukraine.
Other clauses in Zelenskyy’s plan include:
- Commitment to making Ukraine a nuclear-weapon-free state.
- Continuation of martial law and military mobilization without their immediate cancellation.
- Setting the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at 800,000 personnel in peacetime.
- Accelerating the signing of a free trade agreement with the United States.
- Launching a comprehensive development package through a separate investment agreement attracting $800 billion for reconstruction via specialized funds.
- Including educational programs in schools to promote intercultural tolerance and combat racism and prejudice.
- Implementing a non-aggression pact between Russia and Ukraine with international monitoring of the contact line.
- Exchanging prisoners based on an “all for all” principle, and returning civilians, children, and political prisoners.
- Commitment by both parties not to alter the agreement by force.
- Guaranteeing Ukraine’s right to use the Dnipro River and the Black Sea for commercial purposes, with the demilitarization of the Kinburn Peninsula.
Zelenskyy’s plan also calls for holding a nationwide referendum in Ukraine. Observers interpret this move as shifting decision-making responsibility to the people and providing Zelenskyy with a temporary ceasefire, allowing him to buy time on the frontline, as the referendum is conditional on a ceasefire.
This unilateral plan, which Russia is unlikely to accept, also stipulates that Ukrainian elections must be held as soon as possible after the agreement is signed, that the agreement be legally binding, and that a “Peace Council” chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump oversee its implementation.