Politically vulnerable Zelensky says he will negotiate on US-Russia peace plan

Politically vulnerable Zelensky says he will negotiate on US-Russia peace plan that requires near complete capitulation for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he will negotiate with the White House on a new ceasefire deal negotiated between Washington and Moscow. The Ukrainian side was reportedly not part of these talks, and some Ukrainian officials are characterizing the deal as “absurd” and a total capitulation to Russia.

The full details of the deal have not been published. Reports indicate some key points of the plan include the following concessions from Ukraine:

Ceding the entire Donbass border region to Russia, including the parts still under Ukrainian military control.
Ceding much of the two southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to Russian control. Some parts of those territories are subject to negotiation.
Washington would legally recognize the Crimea and Donbass as Russian territory, but would not require Kyiv to do so.
Ukraine’s military to be cut in half.
Relinquishing long-range weapons which Ukraine could use to target Russia’s territory.
No foreign (i.e.: NATO) troops would be allowed in Ukraine post-agreement.
In exchange, Ukraine will receive unspecified “security guarantees” from the US.

These are essentially identical to the demands Putin outlined at the beginning of the war in February 2022. These terms are also less favorable to Ukraine than those in the deal Ukraine walked away from during negotiations in April 2022.

Ukraine’s European allies have balked at this new plan and are furious that neither Ukraine nor EU officials had a seat at the table. However, Zelensky is particularly politically vulnerable right now. Members of his government and one of his former business partners are being investigated in a $100 million embezzlement scheme involving Ukraine’s energy sector.