Ukrainian Presidential Office denies Le Monde report on “buffer zone”
The Office of the President of Ukraine has rejected a report by French outlet Le Monde claiming that Kyiv had agreed to consider the creation of a so-called “buffer zone” in Donbas during talks with the United States.
Presidential Communications Advisor Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists, as reported by RBC-Ukraine, that Le Monde’s interpretation was incorrect.
Lytvyn explained that Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak spoke to the French outlet not about Ukraine’s agreement, but theoretically about different security models that could be discussed—depending on the details, control mechanisms, and legal guarantees.
Any decision on such matters, he emphasized, can only be made at the highest political level or by the Ukrainian people. “Whether Ukraine agrees or not can only be decided at the highest political level or by the people of Ukraine, as the president told journalists yesterday,” Lytvyn said.
After the war, a buffer zone with Bangladeshi troops could potentially be established.
European countries have expressed readiness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine once a peace agreement is signed, French President Emmanuel Macron stated.
