Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that the United States has proposed the creation of a “free economic zone” in parts of eastern Ukraine currently under Kyiv’s control, particularly in the Donetsk region, which Moscow seeks to dominate. According to Zelenskyy, the idea involves Ukrainian forces withdrawing from the area, with the understanding that Russian troops would not advance into the designated territory. However, he stressed that any decision involving territorial changes must be approved by the Ukrainian people through a referendum. n nDuring discussions with senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Zelenskyy presented a 20-point counterproposal for peace, revising an earlier US draft that appeared to favor Russia. He questioned the fairness of unilateral Ukrainian withdrawals, asking why Russian forces would not be required to pull back similarly. n nThe Ukrainian leader emphasized that key unresolved issues include control over Donetsk and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russian forces. He insisted that security guarantees in any agreement must include clear responses in the event of renewed Russian aggression. n nMeanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that Russia could target the alliance militarily within five years, urging member states to accelerate defense spending and production. Speaking in Berlin, he stated, “Conflict is at our door. The time for action is now.” n nOn the financial front, Ukraine’s allies in the Coalition of the Willing discussed leveraging frozen Russian assets, with the European Commission pushing to use approximately 200 billion euros ($232bn) held in EU jurisdictions to support Kyiv. A new agreement among EU ambassadors would allow these funds to remain frozen indefinitely without requiring biannual renewals, though formal approval is still pending. n nRussia continues to assert battlefield dominance. President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian forces maintain the strategic initiative, while military officials reported capturing Siversk in Donetsk—a claim denied by Ukraine’s Operation Task Force East, which said Russian units attempting infiltration were largely destroyed. Ukrainian forces continue to defend key areas, including northern Pokrovsk. n nIn a significant escalation, Ukrainian drones targeted a Lukoil-operated oil rig in the Caspian Sea, reportedly halting extraction from over 20 wells. Additionally, a large-scale drone attack disrupted air traffic at all four Moscow airports for seven hours. n nZelenskyy reiterated that a ceasefire is essential before elections can be held in Ukraine, as he faces increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump to reach a deal. n
— news from Al Jazeera
— News Original —
Zelenskyy says US seeking ‘free economic zone’ in eastern Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the United States is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region to establish a “free economic zone” in the Kyiv-held parts of eastern Ukraine that Moscow wants to control. n nZelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that his country had presented the US with a 20-point set of counter-proposals for peace amid discussions on security guarantees with top US officials, making it clear that any territorial concessions would have to be put to a referendum in Ukraine. n nRecommended Stories n nlist of 3 items n nlist 1 of 3Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,386 n nlist 2 of 3Ukraine reports large Russian mechanised assault in battle for Pokrovsk n nlist 3 of 3Zelenskyy rallies key allies as Ukraine faces Russian and US pressure n nend of list n n“They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of … region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” said the Ukrainian president. n nHe said that Russia had referred to the proposed buffer area as a “demilitarised zone” and that the US team was describing it as an “economic free zone”. n n“I believe that the people of Ukraine will answer this question. Whether through elections or a referendum, there must be a position from the people of Ukraine,” he said. n nZelenskyy is under mounting US pressure to secure a deal with Russia, with reports that US President Donald Trump wants an agreement by Christmas. The general peace plan includes the 20-point framework and separate documents on security guarantees and on rebuilding Ukraine. n nThe full details of the framework, which revises a US draft seen as heavily weighted in Russia’s favour, have not been released. Zelenskyy said the main issues of contention were control of the Donetsk region in the Donbas, and future governance of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control. n nZelenskyy pushed back against the idea of a unilateral withdrawal of troops from the Donetsk, where Ukraine controls one-fifth of the territory. “Why doesn’t the other side of the war pull back the same distance in the other direction?” he said, adding there were “a great many questions” still unresolved. n nAfter talks on Thursday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the Ukrainian president said that security guarantees were “among the most critical elements for all subsequent steps. n nThe document on security guarantees would, he said, have to provide “concrete answers” on actions that would be taken if “Russia decides to launch its aggression again”. n n‘Conflict is at our door’ n nOn Thursday, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned that Russia could be ready to use military force against the alliance within five years, urging members to “rapidly increase defence spending and production”. n n“Conflict is at our door,” he said in a speech in Berlin. “We are Russia’s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.” n nIn other developments, Ukraine’s allies in the so-called Coalition of the Willing discussed progress on mobilising frozen Russian sovereign assets during a virtual meeting on Thursday, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office. n nThe European Commission is pushing to tap some 200 billion euros ($232bn) of Russian central bank assets immobilised in the bloc after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to provide Kyiv with much-needed funding. n nThe sanctions freezing the Russian funds currently require unanimous renewal twice a year, leaving them vulnerable to a veto from Hungary, the EU country closest to Russia. n nBut a majority of ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 nations agreed on Thursday on a way of keeping Russian funds frozen as long as required without the need for renewal every six months. n nThe idea, which still needs formal approval by the finance ministers meeting on Friday, is not a done deal. Belgium, which, as the home of Euroclear – the organisation holding most of the funds, fears legal or financial retribution from Moscow. n nTrump has largely sought to sideline European nations from the peace process, preferring to deal directly with Moscow and Kyiv in shuttle diplomacy led by special envoy Witkoff and, lately, his son-in-law Jared Kushner. n nOn Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met Rutte in Berlin, said further talks with the Americans were planned this weekend, and an international meeting on Ukraine could happen at the start of next week. n nReporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said Merz and Rutte “agreed that Ukraine was closer to a ceasefire than has ever been”. n n“They also agreed that any territorial concessions to be made by Ukraine must be approved by Kyiv, and that in any peace negotiations moving forward, that European leaders must be involved,” she said. n nThe White House said Trump would send a representative to talks in Europe this weekend if there was a real chance of signing a peace agreement. n nPress secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US president was “extremely frustrated with both sides” and “sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting”. n nRussia claims to hold ‘strategic initiative’ n nRussian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength, claimed on Thursday in a call with military leaders that Russian armed forces were “fully holding the strategic initiative” on the battlefield. n nIn 2022, Russia claimed to formally annex the Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, despite not having full control over them. Putin has said that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the land it claims if Kyiv does not give it up. n nLieutenant General Sergei Medvedev told Putin on Thursday that troops had taken the city of Siversk in the Donetsk region, where fighting has been fierce in recent months. n nThe claim was denied by the Ukrainian military’s Operation Task Force East unit, which said Russia was “trying to infiltrate Siversk in small groups, taking advantage of unfavourable weather conditions, but most of these units are being destroyed on the approaches”. n nThe task force also said Ukrainian forces were holding the northern districts of Pokrovsk, a key former logistics hub in Donetsk that Russian commanders said came under Moscow’s control last month. n nMeanwhile, Ukrainian long-range drones hit a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea belonging to Russian oil company Lukoil, according to a report by The Associated Press, citing an anonymous official in the Security Service of Ukraine. n nThe rig reportedly took four hits, halting the extraction of oil and gas from more than 20 wells, according to the official. Russian officials and Lukoil made no immediate comment. n nUkraine also launched one of its biggest drone attacks of the war overnight, halting flights in and out of all four Moscow airports for seven hours. n nZelenskyy told the Coalition of the Willing meeting that a ceasefire was needed for elections to be held in Ukraine. The leader, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from Trump to hold a vote.