KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces. The proposal, which would address one of the major obstacles to ending Russia's war, must also be put to a referendum.

A similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy spoke to reporters Tuesday to describe a 20-point overarching plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the U.S. hammered out in Florida in recent days, though he said that many details are still being worked out.

American negotiators have engaged in a series of talks with Ukraine and Russia separately since U.S. President Donald Trump presented a plan to end the war last month — a proposal widely see as favoring Moscow, which invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago. Since then, Ukraine and its allies in Europe have worked to pull the plan closer to Kyiv's position.

Deciding what will happen to Ukraine’s Donbas region, the vast majority of which Russia has seized, and how Europe’s largest nuclear plant will be managed are some of the most difficult points in the negotiations.

Asked about the plan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow would set out its position based on information received by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend. Peskov declined to share further details.

Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal of its troops from land it has seized. In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

Zelenskyy acknowledged that figuring out control of the region is “the most difficult point.” He said these matters should be discussed at the leaders level.

In addition to saying the plan must be put to a referendum, Zelenskyy said an international force would have to be deployed to the region.

Meanwhile, on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the U.S. has proposed a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each party would have an equal stake. Zelenskyy countered with a proposal for joint venture between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans would be able to decide how to distribute their share, including giving some of it to Russia.

Zelenskyy acknowledged that the U.S. has not yet accepted Ukraine's counterproposals.

“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelenskyy said, using an acronym for the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”

A free economic zone compromise

Creating a free economic zone in the Donbas would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and where international forces would be stationed, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said that a referendum is necessary. “Because people could then choose: does this ending suit us, or does it not?”

Such a vote would require 60 days, he added, during which time hostilities should stop.

The working U.S.-Ukraine draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions. Zelenskyy envisions that international forces could be located along certain points of the contact line within the free economic zone to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

“Since there is no faith in the Russians, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s contact line is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one will enter there under any guise — neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military disguised as civilians,” Zelenskyy said.

Managing the Zaporizhzhia power plant

Ukraine is also proposing that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, be a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelenskyy said.

This point required 15 hours of discussions with the U.S., he said, and no agreement was reached.

For now, the U.S. proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side controlling a 33% stake in the enterprise — a plan Zelenskyy called “not entirely realistic.”

“How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?” he asked.

Ukraine instead suggested that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the U.S. in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute the energy from their 50% share.

Zelenskyy said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.

A separate annex for security guarantees

The working draft ensures that Ukraine will receive “strong” security guarantees, which would require Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression. That would mirror NATO’s Article 5, which says an armed attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.

Zelenskyy said that a separate document with the U.S. will outline these guarantees concretely. It will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian assault, and will establish a mechanism to monitor any ceasefire. The document will be signed concurrently with the main agreement to end the war, Zelenskyy said.

“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.

The draft contains other elements including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peace time and that Ukraine become a member of the European Union by a specific date. Limiting the size of Ukraine’s military is a key Russian demand.

Elections and boosting the economy

The document proposes accelerating a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. The U.S. wants the same deal with Russia, said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package that would include the creation of a development fund to invest in industries including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, as well as gas.

Other points include the provision of funds for the reconstruction of territories destroyed in the war through various means including grants, loans and investment funds.

“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for distributing its share of funds in the territories under the control of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

The goal will be to attract $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.

The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. Zelenskyy’s five-year term was scheduled to end in May 2024, but elections were put off due to Russia’s invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seized on that — even those the postponement was legal — and it has become a source of tension with Trump, who has criticized the delay.

Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners taken since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine. Russia illegally seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed forces have been fighting in the Donbas since that year as well.

___