War

One thousand three hundred and eighty seventh day. What's happening to the peace plan? The United States came up with “the most high-tech demilitarized zone in the world” (what this means is unclear)

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect you, your life, the lives of your loved ones and your attitude towards the world? The feedback form is at the end of this article. A review of the previous day can be read here .

World

The Ukrainian publication “Mirror of the Week” told the details of how a plan is being developed to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Journalists write that they have read the new version of this document, but they publish only a retelling of its contents, and not the entire document. The publication does not disclose its source.

The plan, as Zerkalo Nedeli writes, now consists of four separate documents. This is an agreement between Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United States and Europe , consisting of 20 points, framework security guarantees for Ukraine (three points), US commitments to NATO (four points) and a separate agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States of 12 points.

Here are the key changes from the original 28-point plan that appeared in the media in mid-November:

• The demilitarized zone in the Donetsk region will amount to 30% of its territory (previously this area was not specified). There is no longer any mention in the document that this zone will be “internationally recognized as a territory belonging to the Russian Federation.”
• The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant will be restarted under the control of the United States (and not the IAEA, as was previously the case). Half of its electricity will be received by Ukraine; where the other half will go is not specified.
• The requirement for Ukraine to enshrine in the constitution its refusal to join NATO is no longer in the document. However, the United States, for its part, will give Russia guarantees that the alliance will not expand further and will not invite Ukraine to become its member.
• The size of the Ukrainian army is proposed to be limited to 800 thousand military personnel, and not 600, as previously proposed.
• The United States and Europe will create a $200 billion “equity fund” to invest in the restoration of Ukraine.
• Elections in Ukraine should be held “as soon as possible” after the end of hostilities. The original version stipulated a specific period of 100 days.

Security guarantees for Ukraine, notes Zerkalo Nedeli, as in the original document, are spelled out vaguely. It is assumed that they will be similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, but will not oblige the allies to defend Ukraine militarily in the event of new Russian aggression. The US, NATO and Europe must only hold “immediate consultations” with Ukraine to decide what measures need to be taken - this could be a military response, or simply logistics and intelligence assistance, or diplomatic efforts.

The Wall Street Journal writes in its material that last week the United States also handed over to the Europeans a document that describes the reintegration of Russia into the world economy. According to the publication, it involves investment by American companies in strategic sectors and assistance in restoring Russian energy supplies to Western Europe.

The Financial Times, in turn, reports that “territory exchange,” according to the United States, should be an “inevitable part” of any peace deal. Special envoy Steven Witkoff, two unnamed Ukrainian officials told the publication, is “obsessed” with the idea that if Ukraine cedes the remaining part of Donbass to Russia, this will allow a just peace to be achieved and a longer and more destructive war to be avoided.

Special Envoy Dan Driscoll, European diplomats told FT, said that as part of security guarantees to Ukraine, the United States plans to create “the most high-tech demilitarized zone in the world.” Ukrainian negotiators told the publication that Washington is promoting the idea of ​​an analogue zone separating North and South Korea.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported the day before that as part of the peace plan, the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union is being discussed as early as 2027 (the version of the plan discussed by Mirror of the Week also includes this date). This, according to the authors of the idea, will contribute to the development of trade and investment, as well as the fight against corruption in Ukraine. How this can be implemented in such a short time is unclear.

Officially, neither side is commenting on the details of the future peace agreement and the changes that appear there during the negotiations. The night before, Axios sourcesreported that Ukrainian authorities had provided the United States with their response to the latest draft of the American plan, which contains comments and proposed amendments “to make this all doable.” Representatives of Ukraine and the United States are expected to continue discussing details online today.

War in photographs. Kyiv without electricity

In most regions of Ukraine, due to Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure, power is switched off every day for several hours. Today, according to the schedule, some areas of Kyiv will be without power for 17 hours - these are one of the largest planned blackouts in the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war.

Following the results of today’s meeting, the government of the country instructed regional authorities to optimize consumption, as well as revise the list of critical infrastructure facilities. Thanks to this, authorities expect a reduction in the duration of daily outages by the weekend.

In the photo, a group of children with flashlights walks through an underground passage during a power outage.

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

How we choose letters

Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Georgy (Melitopol) . That's what I think. Now every day you have photographs from Konstakha [Konstantinovka], from Dobropolye , how everything is destroyed and broken. If the Russians had not taken Melitopol without a fight in the first days of the invasion, it would have looked the same now. Thank you, no need.

Everyone on the Internet loves to ask: how is it possible to give up Slavyansk and Kramatorsk without a fight, with the population, there are people there. Well, ok, then defend, then give back with battles. [As a result] the city is in ruins, the neighbors will bury half the population in the yard, but the result is the same - this is how they didn’t give up Pokrovsk, well done for fighting, thank you for your participation.

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