The reality of Zelensky’s “painful rating” in “Donbass”

According to Isna, Ukraine’s chief negotiator confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted the controversial US plan to create a demilitarized zone in the Donbass, similar to the buffer zone between South Korea and North Korea, and stated that this requires the withdrawal of Ukrainian and Russian forces from the front line.

The newspaper Le Monde reported by publishing this article: “German Chancellor Friedrich Mertes, with eyes staring down and a quiet voice, admitted yesterday that Ukraine is now “ready” to accept territorial concessions in order to end the war. Kyiv has agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Donbass, one of the main points in negotiations with the United States and Russia. The concession has drawn support from European leaders seeking to end the war, which is approaching its fourth year.

This concession was included in the revised US peace plan, which was conveyed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to US President Donald Trump. The German chancellor confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kerr Starmer also participated in the preparation of this draft along with Mertes.

According to Kyiv, the creation of a demilitarized zone will require the withdrawal of Ukrainian and Russian forces from both sides of the current front line in Donbass. In that case, this important strategic and industrial area can be under the supervision of an international force including the United States to prevent further Russian attacks.

In an interview with this French media, Podoliak stated that “a demilitarized zone must exist on both sides of the line,” stating: “We must determine logically and legally whether all types of weapons must be removed or only heavy weapons.” “Representatives of monitoring bodies and a foreign country must be present to ensure that the agreed principles and provisions are followed.”

He added: “This is a normal framework for ending the conflict, knowing that, unfortunately, part of the territory will remain under the actual occupation of Russia, and in any case a line of separation will be created.”

Monitoring the implementation of agreements

According to Le Monde, Podoliak emphasized the need to define the roles and missions that will be assigned to third parties, and indicated that the ideal of the Ukrainians is that the United States participates in this monitoring force to ensure “surveillance, information, monitoring of the implementation of agreements, monitoring of unauthorized movements of forces and monitoring of respect for the separation line.”

This approach is reminiscent of the demilitarized zone established between North and South Korea as part of the armistice between the two countries in 1953, since which no peace treaty has been signed.

The demilitarized zone between the two Koreas is about four kilometers wide and 250 kilometers long along the border. The demilitarized zone on the Ukrainian front line will be much longer and deeper.

“The purpose of this painful territorial concession for Zelensky is to help him avoid completely ceding the parts of Donbas not occupied by Russia, which alone make up 25 percent of Donetsk Oblast,” wrote the French media. “This Kremlin request is still an absolute red line for Zelensky.”

Reconstruction budget of Ukraine

This newspaper further wrote: Podoliak explained that the revised version of the peace plan sent to the United States has three parts. The first part is related to the end of the war itself and is arranged in about 20 paragraphs. The second part details the creation of a European security structure for the post-war period, including the issue of security guarantees aimed at deterring Russia from launching new offensives after a possible ceasefire.

Pointing out that the third part is focused on rebuilding Ukraine – rebuilding the economy and restoring its defense capabilities, Podoliak wrote: “The attacker must contribute to the financing of the reconstruction,” the media outlet warned. This is a necessary element to end the war. “Otherwise, the attacker will feel that he has only benefited from the conflict and there will be no deterrent.”

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