Demilitarized zone in Donbas, land swaps, EU membership: new details of the peace plan for Ukraine have emerged

Details of the current version of the peace plan for Ukraine being discussed and promoted by the United States have become known.

The specifics were published in The Washington Post by American journalist David Ignatius, citing Ukrainian and American sources.

According to them, the plan is divided into three parts: the peace plan itself, security guarantees, and a plan for Ukraine’s economic recovery. The document includes the following:

• A demilitarized zone, similar to the Korean one, is proposed along the entire ceasefire line from Donetsk region to Kherson, with a deeper zone behind it where heavy weapons will be banned. In this way, the Americans are trying to persuade Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw troops from Donbas.

• Territorial exchanges are an integral part of the agreement, but Ukraine and the U.S. are still arguing over how the borders will be drawn.

• The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will not remain under Russian occupation. One option under discussion is that the U.S. could take over management of the facility, which “appeals to some Ukrainian officials.”

• Ukraine could join the European Union as early as 2027. The Trump administration believes it can overcome resistance from Hungary. Membership would boost trade and investment and, “perhaps most importantly, force Ukraine to bring under control the malign culture of corruption in state-owned enterprises.”

• The U.S. would provide security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5. Ukraine wants the U.S. to sign such an agreement and for Congress to ratify it. European countries would sign separate security guarantees. Trump’s team says it is prepared to continue supporting Ukrainian intelligence.

• Ukraine’s sovereignty would be protected from any Russian veto. An increase in the cap on the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from 600,000 to 800,000 troops is under discussion. However, Ukraine refuses any formal constitutional limits, as Russia wants. As the article notes, “regardless of the nominal size of the army, officials say there can be additional forces, such as the national guard or other auxiliary forces.”

• The Trump administration still proposes allocating 100 billion dollars from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The amount could be increased. U.S. officials are also negotiating with the international investment company BlackRock to create a Ukrainian development fund that would attract 400 billion dollars for rebuilding. The World Bank will also participate in this process.

Trump wants similar investment for Russia as well.

“Kushner and Witkoff, both committed capitalists, proceed from the assumption that countries that trade and prosper do not go to war,” the article says.