President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined a revised 20-point framework for ending the war, developed with US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida over the weekend, according to BBC reporting. He said Moscow would deliver a response on Wednesday after consultations with Washington.
Central to the draft is a package of external security guarantees from the US, NATO and European partners intended to trigger a coordinated military response in the event of renewed aggression. The text, as described by Zelensky, reaffirms Ukraine’s sovereignty, proposes a non‑aggression pact with a monitoring mechanism, and sets a peacetime armed‑forces ceiling of 800,000 personnel.
On eastern Donetsk, Zelensky set out two options under discussion: establishing a demilitarised strip or creating a free economic zone. While Kyiv opposes withdrawing its forces, he said US negotiators had examined a pullback of heavy units by five, 10 or 40 kilometres within the roughly 25% of Donetsk still held by Ukraine, with Russia expected to mirror those distances on its side.
Any area from which Ukrainian troops redeploy would, he said, remain under Ukrainian civil administration and policing. Zelensky rejected any role for “so‑called Russian police” and said international forces would be required along the contact line to deter infiltration. The current front line would serve as the boundary of any economic zone.
Zelensky presented the choice bluntly: either the conflict continues or decisions are taken on economic‑zone arrangements. He added that sensitive territorial issues would ultimately be resolved at leaders’ level, with the document intended to lock in guarantees, oversight and timelines while those decisions are made.
According to the BBC, the 20‑point text updates an earlier 28‑point paper negotiated by US envoy Steve Witkoff with Russian counterparts that was widely viewed as accommodating Kremlin positions. Much of the revision reflects talks in Berlin involving Witkoff and Jared Kushner, before discussions moved to Miami where US President Donald Trump’s team met Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and then Ukrainian and European officials.
Moscow has demanded Kyiv vacate nearly one quarter of Donetsk as the price of a settlement; the remainder is already under Russian occupation, the BBC reports. Russian forces are positioned about 40km east of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk after taking Siversk, and President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will seize the whole of eastern Ukraine by force if Kyiv does not withdraw.
Zelensky argued that Russia cannot afford to dismiss a US‑backed framework while President Trump seeks a deal. If Moscow obstructs progress, he said, Washington would need to increase military support and apply comprehensive sanctions.
Beyond Donetsk, Zelensky said a settlement must also create an economic zone around the Russian‑occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and require Russian troop withdrawals from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. Kyiv opposes a US idea for joint US‑Ukraine‑Russia operation of the plant.
The latest draft retains strong guarantees modelled on NATO’s Article Five while avoiding any bar on future NATO membership reportedly present in the earlier 28‑point text. It also sets a defined date for Ukraine’s European Union accession and proposes a US‑European investment fund of about $200bn (£150bn) to underpin reconstruction and private‑sector confidence.
Zelensky said the entire package would be put to a nationwide referendum, and that any free economic zone in Donbas would also require direct public approval. The document further envisages elections in Ukraine as soon as possible after signature, a point pressed by both Russia and the US even though martial law remains in force.
Several items remain unsettled. A US concept that Ukraine provide compensation in exchange for security guarantees is still under discussion and is not currently in the draft. The BBC reports that Kyiv and Washington have yet to reach consensus on territorial provisions, while Russia has rejected a European proposal to police implementation through a Coalition of the Willing, calling it a “brazen threat.”
For officials and donors, the draft implies rapid work on verification regimes, border‑monitoring capacity and the legal basis for an international presence along the contact line. Businesses should watch for free‑zone design parameters, customs and tax treatment, and governance of any $200bn fund, as these will determine investment sequencing and risk allocation.
Timelines are tight. Zelensky said Russia would reply on Wednesday after consultations with the US. If negotiations stall, his public position is that Washington would escalate military assistance and sanctions, raising the costs to Moscow of non‑engagement, according to the BBC.