Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed opposition to the proposal of establishing a 40-kilometer buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian front lines as a condition for a peace agreement between the two countries.
According to the BBC on August 29 (local time), President Zelensky told reporters, "Only those who do not understand the current technological level of warfare would propose a buffer zone."
The previous day, Politico Europe reported that European military officials and authorities were considering the creation of a buffer zone as one of the security measures to be applied in the event of an end to the war or a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In response, President Zelensky argued that areas near the front lines already function as buffer zones where neither side can conduct operations due to the threat of drone attacks.
He stated, "Currently, our heavy weapons are positioned more than 10 kilometers apart from each other," adding, "This is because all of them are subject to drone strikes."
He continued, "Such buffer zones already exist," and added, "I call this a 'dead zone,' while some refer to it as a 'gray zone.'"
Furthermore, President Zelensky rejected the idea, saying that for Ukraine, this could mean giving up some territory within the proposed zone.
He pointed out, "If Russia wants to move further away from us, they can retreat deep into the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories."
President Zelensky also said that Russia is not ready for diplomacy and is instead looking for ways to delay the end of the war.
Meanwhile, there have been media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump proposed sending Chinese troops as peacekeepers to postwar Ukraine.
According to the reports, President Trump, during a meeting at the White House last week with European leaders and President Zelensky, suggested inviting China as part of a peace agreement with Russia to provide peacekeeping forces to monitor a neutral zone to be established along the Ukrainian front lines.
Europe opposes such an idea. President Zelensky has also rejected it, citing China's critical support for Russia. However, the White House denied the reports, stating that no such remarks were made during the meeting.
This is not the first time a proposal has been made to involve China in postwar plans for Ukraine. During initial negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, T?rkiye, in 2022, Russia first raised the idea of dispatching Chinese peacekeepers as part of security guarantees. China has stated that it could play a "constructive role" in ending the war in Ukraine.
However, for Ukraine, this was, and remains, an unacceptable proposal. All guarantor countries would have to approve Ukraine's response, which would mean Russia would have veto power over any military intervention.
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