KYIV ¨C President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is willing to pull his troops back from areas of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyiv¡¯s control and turn those areas into a demilitarized zone as part of a possible peace deal with Moscow.
The offer, made in comments to reporters this week, was the closest Zelenskyy has come to addressing the thorny territorial disputes in Donetsk that have repeatedly derailed peace talks, signaling his willingness to compromise after weeks of U.S.-mediated negotiations.
But the proposal also hinted at the significant gaps that remain between Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy¡¯s offer of a demilitarized zone came with a condition: Russia would have to pull its forces from an equivalent stretch of land in Donetsk. So far, the Kremlin has given no indication that it is willing to accept anything less than full control over the region.
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