Zelenskyy Outlined Three Steps to End the War
Ukraine, together with the U.S. and its European partners, has developed a possible plan to end the war. It calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops, and the creation of a free economic zone; however, some of the details remain unclear.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during negotiations with U.S. representatives, the parties consolidated possible options for ending the war into a single joint plan. Specifically, this refers to agreements reached with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. According to Zelenskyy, the U.S. side wants to discuss these proposals not only with Ukraine but also with Russia.
The first point of the plan is a ceasefire. “In short, there is one idea for a ceasefire—that’s the main thing there,” Zelenskyy said.
The second part concerns the creation of a free economic zone. Under the plan, Ukraine and Russia are to take certain steps back and withdraw their troops from a specific territory. “The second part is what the Americans proposed regarding the free economic zone. That is, we and the ‘Russians’ take equal steps back, and this creates a buffer zone called a free economic zone under some form of administration,” the president explained.
However, it has not yet been determined who exactly would control such a zone. Zelenskyy noted that this involves the possible participation of a third party.
What Ukraine and its partners will do
The third part of the plan concerns the next steps for Ukraine, the European Union, and NATO. According to the president, the parties must determine what guarantees and actions the partners are prepared to offer and what steps Ukraine is willing to take on its part. “And third: what will the EU and NATO do, and what is Ukraine prepared to do for this?” Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, the president emphasized that this plan is not a proposal from Kyiv alone. “These are joint ideas with the Americans and the Europeans, as well as the results of finalized discussions between the Americans, us, and the ‘Russians.’ In my view, there are elements there that could be realistic,” he noted.
No final agreements have been reached yet
Zelenskyy stated that the parties are responding positively to the proposed ideas. According to him, no one has raised any fundamental objections so far. At the same time, the president noted that the U.S. has several more proposals. The American side has not yet presented them to Ukraine in full. “As far as we know, the American side has several more ideas. They want to find the right moment to share them. We are waiting for them,” the head of state said.
In other words, the discussion at this stage centers specifically on a draft plan, not a final peace agreement. The next important step is expected to be further negotiations involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia.
The last round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia took place in Geneva on February 17–18. Kyiv also expects further contacts with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump—Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—following their numerous visits to Russia.
Russia has not ruled out the theoretical possibility of an offensive from the Bryansk region toward the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. At the same time, no Russian troops have been detected in the Bryansk region in this direction, although the Ukrainian military has spotted Russian military equipment along the border.
Ukrainian defense forces have almost completely liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region from Russian troops. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, approximately 10 square kilometers remain under Russian control—three small villages where, as the president claims, there are virtually no Russian troops left.
