Zelenskyy says 'free economic zone' could be established in eastern Donetsk region
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he had positive talks with a US delegation on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelensky held nearly an hour-long meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on Thursday.
US and Ukrainian representatives agreed on a 20-point peace plan in Florida on Wednesday. The plan is a revised version of an initial draft prepared by Witkoff a few weeks ago. Zelensky rejected it, saying the earlier draft seemed to only benefit Russia. He said the revised proposal on Wednesday included security guarantees for Ukraine.
"The plan now includes security guarantees from the US, NATO and the Europeans, which would mean a coordinated military response if Russia attacks again," he said.
Zelensky said a "free economic zone" could be established in Ukraine's industrial eastern Donetsk region. Russia currently controls about 75% of Donetsk and 99% of neighboring Luhansk. Both areas are known as the Donbas region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been claiming that the areas currently under Russian control should remain Russian. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the proposals from the United States were being studied. "We are examining this material, and we will continue our dialogue with the Americans based on the decision made by the head of state," he said.
The two countries are engaged in a series of negotiations and fighting. The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that a cruise missile had struck a major oil refinery in Russia's southern Rostov region. Similarly, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the settlement of Svyatopolk in the Donetsk region had been captured.
