Of
Francesco Battistini
Kiev and the United States have been working on a new 20-point peace plan proposal, but Trump speaks of “hatred” and appears less than optimistic, while accusations and negative signals are coming from the Kremlin towards Europe. And on the field Moscow continues to make progress
A sovereign Ukraine. The freezing of the line of fire in Donbass, without concessions from the Donetsk territories not (yet) occupied by the Russians: at most, a free and demilitarized economic zone. Enough aggression, with the guarantee of NATO controls and the presence of at least 800 thousand Ukrainian soldiers. A future membership of Kiev in the European Union (and as for the Atlantic Alliance, never say never). The Ukraine-Russia-USA co-management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. And then the reconstruction, to be agreed with the USA, and free navigation on the Dnipro and the Black Sea, the return of the kidnapped children…
It took a month, though transform the surrender plan into an (im)possible peace which – without consulting Ukraine – the proconsuls of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had prepared for the Kremlin.
The twenty-eight points, initially reduced to eighteen, have now become twenty: the draft of an agreement that this time Kiev likes it more than Moscowso much so that it was immediately made public by the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yet another proposal that makes the man shake his head American president: there is “hatred”, he limits himself to commentinganything but optimistic.
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Ukrainian hopes
After repeated humiliations in front of the world, Zelensky is satisfied with having obtained the revision of the plan from the USA. The most important news are the front lines frozenwithout discussing territorial issues or Moscow’s two key demands: in Kiev (point 14) the withdrawal of troops in what remains of Donbass is no longer necessary (i.e. 20% of the disputed territory); At no point does Ukraine commit itself not to join NATO in the future. «We are in a situation where the Russians want our withdrawal from the Donetsk region, while the Americans are trying to find a solution», assures the Ukrainian president.
Actually, the US has not conceded anything on Donetsk. And Putin would hardly accept anything less than annexation. The same goes for NATO: «It is up to the Alliance to decide whether to welcome us as a member – says Zelensky -. Our choice is made. We have abandoned the idea of amending the Constitution to include a clause establishing that the country will not join NATO.” All this means little, though. The new draft no longer asks for “constitutional” commitments from Kiev, it is true, but the clear opposition from Washington and several NATO countries to membership remains insurmountable.
The Russian Frost
“Slow but steady,” he declares Maria Zakharova by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the negotiations “advance”. To where? The spokeswoman always refers to the “spirit of Anchorage”, to the meeting that Trump and Putin had on August 15th in Alaska, and accuses Europe – as usual – of “boycotting these efforts and nullifying all diplomatic results”. Second Bloombergwhich cites Kremlin sources, Above all, Moscow wants substantial changes to the plan. Also the New York Times provides for a general rejection of the proposal. In particular, Ukrainian military capabilities are not accepted (a month ago, Russia asked to grant the enemy an army of no more than 600 thousand soldiers), territorial issues and the status of Zaporizhzhia. Putin insists on guarantees on one non-extension of NATO to the Eastwith the neutrality status of Ukraine, with the lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of assets in Europe. A military withdrawal from some regions would not be ruled out, in the hypothesis of totally demilitarized areas. However, we are left with hypotheses: Putin has not spoken out and his spokesmen define the rumors as “false”.
Territories and demilitarization
«In the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – we read in the new plan -, the troop deployment line is de facto recognized as a line of contact. Russia must withdraw its troops from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. International forces will be deployed along the contact line to monitor compliance with the agreement.”
This is perhaps the main novelty: the Americans and Ukrainians have pulled out of the hat the idea – already advanced in the meetings in Miami – of a “free economic zone”, a special area free from both Ukrainian soldiers and Russian troops. This, on the eastern industrial heart of the country, is the major compromise accepted by Zelensky. But How far should the two contenders retreat? And where would the international monitors line up?
The nuclear power plant
The US proposes to operate Zaporizhzhia – the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, occupied in 2022 by Putin – in a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, in which each side would have an equal share.
Zelensky instead relaunches a joint venture only between Washington and Kievin which the Americans could decide how to distribute their share: even giving part of it to Moscow. At the moment, there is no consensus. Joint management with the Russians, for Zelensky, is “very inappropriate and not entirely realistic”.
At what point is the war, meanwhile
Russia has so far rejected any calls for a ceasefire without a long-term conciliation agreement, arguing that a pause in fighting would only help Ukraine rearm itself. On the ground, the Russian army has accelerated its advance in recent months.
Tuesday, Ukrainian forces announced they had been forced to withdraw from the city of Siverskone of the last strongholds preventing Russian forces from approaching Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the large cities of the Donbass region that remained under Ukrainian control. «Russia did not stop its brutal bombing of civilians in Ukraine even on Christmas night»reports the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha: «The attacks on Odessa killed one person and injured two others. One civilian was killed in the Kharkiv region and another in the Chernihiv region. Odessa is the city that suffers the most these days», the population is without electricity, water and heating in freezing temperatures.
A genocide, Kiev says: “There is no military purpose, only Russia’s intention to kill people because they are Ukrainian.” In short, there is no way out, and in Kiev all that remains is to hope for a supernatural intervention: “Today we all have a dream – confesses Zelensky regarding the Russian president -: that he can die”. “One wonders,” Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, replies piquedly, whether a leader who wishes death on the Tsar “is capable of making adequate decisions to resolve the situation with political-diplomatic means.”
The Kremlin speaks of “uncivilized and angry” behavior. And everything suggests that the peace plan still has a very long time to go.
December 25, 2025 (changed December 25, 2025 | 6:28 pm)
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