Zelensky passes peace proposals to the US and rejects withdrawal of troops from Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has passed new peace proposals to the United States outlining conditions for ending the war and called for greater Washington involvement in the negotiation process.

This was reported by the Kyiv Independent.

The proposals were submitted ahead of planned visits to Kyiv and Moscow this month by American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as part of another attempt to restart stalled peace talks.

“We need greater involvement from the American side in the peace plan. Putin does not want to stop this war, and there is not enough pressure on him right now,” Zelensky said in an interview with CNN.

At the same time, an American official familiar with the situation told the Kyiv Independent that Washington has not yet received detailed proposals. According to the official, although the plan was mentioned during talks between Witkoff, Kushner, and Ukrainian officials on August 11, the envoys have not yet seen it. The document is expected to be handed over when they visit Kyiv later this month.

Zelensky rejected Russia’s demand for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of Donbas still under Kyiv’s control. He warned that any agreement must include reliable security guarantees that would rule out the possibility of Russian forces rebuilding and launching a new invasion.

“Why wouldn’t he come again with another one or two million soldiers after a lengthy pause?” the Ukrainian president said.

On August 13, Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces had recaptured 745 square kilometers of territory along the southeastern front line this year, liberating 26 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukraine has also stepped up long-range strikes deep into Russian territory: according to Newsweek, in July Kyiv carried out three times as many long-range strikes as in January, hitting oil refineries, logistics hubs, and military infrastructure. One recent operation targeted grain export terminals and Russian warships in Novorossiysk — while deliberately leaving untouched a Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal linked to the interests of Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Peace talks have remained frozen since February, when the United States launched a military campaign against Iran. Previous negotiations stalled over Moscow’s demand to establish control over all of Donbas, which Ukraine rejects. Ukrainian leaders hope the active phase of the war may conclude before winter, when Russia could again begin striking energy infrastructure.

An American official previously told the Kyiv Independent that the White House is increasingly inclined to believe that both sides may have grounds to consider an air ceasefire regime. Russia, however, has signaled that the situation on the battlefield matters more than negotiations.

“Everything depends on the actions of our heroes at the front,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in June.