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BRITISH peacekeepers could be standing in a buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies, Donald Trump’s alleged peace plan says.
But the president’s “leaked” 100 day proposal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be difficult for Volodmyr Zelensky to accept.
AP
Reuters
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump met in 2024
The alleged plan, Newsweek reports, would see Vladimir Putin stopped in his tacks and Russia’s steadily advancing front line frozen in an Easter ceasefire.
European soldiers, including Brits, could then be used to guarantee Russia doesn’t invade again by policing a demilitarised zone.
Crucially for Trump, this would not include American soldiers.
In return, Ukraine would be barred from joining Nato and it would have to declare neutrality.
But, the country could still become part of the EU in 2030 and Trump would want the bloc to drive Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
The US would continue to support Ukraine’s military but Kyiv would have to accept Russian ownership of the land Moscow has seized.
Putin occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine and has held sham referendums in four regions for them to “officially” join Russia.
Sanctions on Russia could be would down over several years with money made off special duties funding the rebuilding of Ukraine.
The alleged peace plan was leaked to Ukrainian news outlet Strana – but Zelensky’s office slammed it as Russian disinformation.
Any peace deal could be sealed with a call between Trump and Putin or at an international peace conference all the leaders involved.
Zelenksy has made it clear that he wants all of eastern Ukraine which Russia controls returned to Kyiv.
But he has accepted that the land might not return to Ukraine immediately.
Instead, Zelenksy’s immediate goal with any peace appears to be to get Ukraine to join the Nato military alliance or at least be protected under its umbrella.
Zelensky has said it was key that Nato should “immediately” cover all of the land Kyiv controls, so Putin does not use the peace to prepare for another invasion.
AP
ReutersTrump has ordered his new envoy General Keith Kellogg to end the war within 100 days.
Zelensky is worried that Trump could go over his head and sign a peace deal with Russia, cutting Ukraine out.
The US could then force Ukraine into accepting the deal, no matter how bad for Ukraine it is, by cutting off any military support.
Zelensky said on Saturday: “Russia’s war is against Ukraine, against Europe, against the whole world, but above all, the war is waged on our land.
“It is impossible to exclude Ukraine from any negotiating platform.
“Either this negotiating platform will have no real results, or it will have only political results. And such results will have nothing to do with security or the end of the war.”
EPA
EPAHe has previously said Ukraine would not give up a single piece of land.
Putin is yet to state exactly what his goals in any peace conference would be.
He has previously said he wanted regime change in Ukraine, to demilitarise the country, and prevent Nato’s expansion.
The godfather to his daughter, who is also a key political ally of Putin’s, shared a map showing how much of Ukraine Russia believes belongs to it.
Viktor Medvedchuck shared a 19th century map of the country with the Russian empire’s control coloured in.
He wrote: “This map fully demonstrates that almost the entire territory of Ukraine, the model for gaining independence in 1991, was historically Russian lands for centuries.
AFP
AFP“The process of gathering historical lands by Russia is not only natural, but also once again saves the Ukrainian people, who have always historically been part of the Russian people.”
The meat grinder is costing Putin thousands of troops with the dictator losing more than 2,000 troops in one day last week.
Trump lashed out at the despot and warned he will apply a sling of damaging sanctions on Moscow if they refuse to come to the negotiating table soon.
The Republican stalwart has already said he isn’t afraid of crippling Russia with financial ruin as he branded Putin’s war “ridiculous”.
The threats are believed to ramp up the pressure on Putin to make a deal despite the pair reportedly yet to speak about a ceasefire.
Trump is expected to stay on top of the negotiations after he initially claimed it would only take him one day to end the conflict.
Who is General Kellogg?
By Georgie English, Foreign News Reporter
DONALD Trump has tasked longtime war hero pal Keith Kellogg with ending the war in Ukraine in just 100 days.
Decorated war veteran Keith Kellogg, 80, is hoping to finally stop Vladimir Putin in his tracks with help from the new President after Don’s stark threats to Russia in recent days.
The military man served his country for 36 years before going into politics and is now expected to advise the peace negotiations in 2025.
Kellogg has been a key figure alongside Trump for almost a decade after he was appointed as a chief of staff on the Republican’s highly sensitive National Security role during his first term in office.
Former White House national-security adviser under Trump, John Bolton, even said he once overheard Don say he likes Kellogg because he “never offers his opinion unless I ask for it”.
Russia is also yet to express any interest in engaging with the 80-year-old by himself.
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English (US)