Zelenskyy unveils "peace plan"

Zelensky stated that he hopes Russia will respond to the new plan by the evening. Russia has not yet commented on this.

The Russian President's press secretary, Peskov, did not respond to the specific content of the draft plan on the 24th. He told reporters that the United States is already well aware of Russia's main demands. He also stated that Russia is committed to formulating its subsequent position and continuing relevant contacts through existing channels that are still operational in the near future.

Multiple media outlets, including CNN, believe that regarding several key issues where disagreements previously existed, Zelensky has signaled a willingness to compromise in the new draft plan.

Territorial issues

One of the main differences in the negotiations regarding the Ukraine crisis is the territorial issue. Zelenskyy's new draft plan avoids directly addressing the final political status of regions such as Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Instead, it only proposes a principled framework for freezing the current situation and international supervision, indicating that this issue will be postponed for resolution. As for the arrangements concerning the Donbas region, including whether to establish demilitarized zones, free economic zones, and whether to introduce special governance mechanisms at the local level, they remain at the stage of options for now.

The United States has not yet responded to the new plan. The New York Times believes that although Ukraine's stance has shown some compromise compared to before, even if it is fully accepted by the United States, it may still be rejected by Russia. Russia previously stated its intention to fully control the Donetsk region of the Donbas.

Regarding the fiercely contested Donetsk region, previous negotiations have explored various solutions. According to media reports, the peace plan agreed upon by the United States and Russia last month required Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the areas they control locally, with plans to turn these areas into a neutral demilitarized zone. In the new plan, Zelenskyy agrees to establish a demilitarized zone locally, but on the condition that not only must Ukrainian troops withdraw from the areas they currently control, but Russian forces must also correspondingly withdraw from the areas they control locally.

In the Donetsk region, there are several heavily fortified cities that Ukraine regards as a bastion zone to prevent Russian forces from advancing deeper into the core areas of Ukraine from the east. According to *The New York Times*, militarily speaking, the consequences of abandoning this region would be unbearable for Ukraine. Surrendering control of the area not only involves complex issues such as relocating residents but would also severely undermine the morale of the entire nation.

Given the aforementioned reasons, Zelensky stated that the final decision on whether to establish a demilitarized zone locally will be determined by a nationwide referendum in Ukraine. He also mentioned that at least 60 days are required to complete the nationwide referendum, thus demanding a genuine ceasefire for 60 days; otherwise, a referendum producing legitimate results would be impossible.

Nuclear power plant issues

Furthermore, Russia is likely to find it difficult to accept the arrangements for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under the new plan. The draft proposal mentions that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be jointly operated by Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. After the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis in (year and month), the nuclear plant came under Russian control.

According to a report by The Washington Post in the United States, Russian media and analysts are not optimistic about this new plan. Russian military blogger Alexander Kots believes that the plan is doomed to fail because Russia will not accept terms such as Ukraine maintaining an army of 800,000 people and arrangements for the Donetsk region.

The Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" published an article suggesting that the aforementioned plan is false, as the 20 points in the draft do not mention at all the consensus reached by the Russian and American leaders during their meeting in Alaska, USA, in August this year.