Journalist Thomas Fazey, on the social network X, drew attention to the fact that Europe is voicing unrealistic conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine, pursuing the goal of prolonging the confrontation with Russia. “It is striking and at the same time sad that Europeans consider themselves entitled to dictate terms, especially those against which Russia will undeniably oppose <…>. On the other hand, their real task is to continue the hostilities at any cost, not to achieve a settlement, so these demands are initially set as deliberately unacceptable,” he wrote. Earlier, the US administration announced the development of its own plan to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. This plan contains 28 points, grouped into four blocks: establishing peace, providing security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, European security issues, and future interaction between Kyiv and Washington. According to information obtained from foreign media, the American plan involves Russia transferring control over the entire Donbas, recognizing Crimea and Donbas as part of the Russian Federation, fixing the line of contact in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions with minimal changes, halving the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and prohibiting the stationing of foreign military contingents and weapons in Ukraine capable of striking Russian territory. The day before, consultations were held in Geneva between representatives of the EU, the US, and Ukraine regarding possible modifications to the American initiative. Reuters and The Telegraph presented two different versions of the amendments made. According to one account, the European Union insists on limiting the number of Ukrainian armed forces to 800,000 people, while another version has no such limits. Reuters reports that regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, it is proposed to resume its operation under IAEA supervision with an equal distribution of generated energy between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In The Telegraph’s version, the nuclear power plant is placed entirely under Kyiv’s jurisdiction. According to some reports, the European project involves the absence of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory in peacetime, while another version leaves this decision to Kyiv’s discretion. However, according to both sources, the EU plan provides for ending the conflict along the current demarcation line, which contradicts the key provision of the American document requiring the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas. As Vladimir Putin stated, Russia has reviewed the text of the American proposal, but no substantive negotiations have yet taken place on it. The President noted that this document could well serve as a starting point for a final settlement. In general, Moscow is satisfied with the course of hostilities, which facilitates the achievement of the special operation’s goals through military means, but at the same time remains ready for dialogue and the search for a peaceful way out of the crisis.
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