Donald Trump could call for an 800-mile demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine as part of a plan to end the war soon.
The proposal, which has been outlined by three Trump staffers, would involve the area being guarded by British and European troops.
It would mean Russia would maintain territorial gains made in Ukraine with the current border frozen. Kyiv would also have to ensure that it does not join NATO for 20 years.
Under the plans, which are one of several being considered, the United States would arm Ukraine in exchange for preventing Russia from restarting the war.
However, responsibility for managing and financing the buffer zone would fall solely on Ukraine’s European allies.
It comes as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky warned that any attempt to end the war by appeasing Russia would be “suicide” for Europe.
Donald Trump made a stunning political comeback and recaptured the White House in a dominant victory in the 2024 US presidential election.
President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg on July 7, 2017.
Map shows what proposed 800-mile buffer zone could look like
“We can provide training and other support, but the barrel of the gun will be European,” a member of Trump’s team told the Wall Street Journal.
‘We will not send American men and women to defend peace in Ukraine. And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.
Although Trump has not explained how he would bring both sides to the negotiating table, his advisers have reportedly expressed different plans to resolve the conflict.
Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu said Thursday that the situation in the combat zone in Ukraine is not in kyiv’s favor and that the West should accept it and negotiate an end to the conflict, the Interfax news agency reported.
“Now, when the situation in the theater of military operations does not favor the kyiv regime, the West faces a choice: continue financing it and destroying the Ukrainian population or recognize the current realities and start negotiating,” Shoigu was quoted in a meeting of secretaries of the security councils of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow.
Trump has said the war between Russia and Ukraine would never have started if he had been president and claimed he could abruptly stop the conflict, without ever revealing his plans to do so.
Zelensky strongly opposes ceding territory to Vladimir Putin
US military aid to Ukraine feared to decline when Trump takes office
Keir Starmer congratulated Donald Trump in his first phone call since the Republican’s surprise election victory as he seeks to repair ties.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 26th artillery brigade fire an AHS Krab self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near the front line in the Chasiv Yar area
A Ukrainian service member of the Hyzhak (Predator) special police unit fires a D30 howitzer toward Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the border town of Toretsk, Ukraine, on October 25, 2024.
Britain, France and Germany have already promised to support Ukraine “for as long as necessary” and Zelensky is adamantly opposed to ceding territory to Vladimir Putin.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian leader said that making any concessions to Putin would be “unacceptable for Ukraine” and “suicidal for Europe.”
With this in mind, it is difficult to see how such a plan could be pushed forward without putting pressure on kyiv with threats to withhold much-needed US military aid.
This would dramatically undermine Washington’s relations with all of Europe and call NATO’s legitimacy into question.
Some analysts and politicians have warned that this could even encourage countries like China to capitalize on the West’s perceived disunity and seek to expand its influence in the Pacific.
Fears that the Republican could try to unilaterally withdraw from NATO are overblown, as the US Congress passed legislation requiring a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to approve such a measure.
However, many analysts have warned that Trump is likely to reduce US military aid to Ukraine and force kyiv’s European partners to bear a huge burden to maintain an adequate weapons supply, a move that would certainly increase pressure on Zelensky to to consider a negotiated solution. settlement and transfer of territory.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, US, on September 27, 2024
Ukrainian soldiers from the Liut Brigade sit in a van on their way back to the frontline town near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on October 7, 2024.
An aerial view shows the destroyed city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia, on October 2, 2024 in Vovchansk, Ukraine.
“Trump is right to say that European allies have been underperforming on defense and overly reliant on Uncle Sam to protect them for too long, and this is a big wake-up call for the West,” said Dr. Russell Foster, professor holder of British Sciences. and International Politics at King’s College London, he told MailOnline.
“But Europe, Canada and Australasia have let their defense spending stagnate for so long that they have nowhere near the industrial base or military infrastructure to help defend Ukraine and themselves from further aggression without American help.
“We are likely to see large demands for defense spending and investment across NATO, but this will take years and will be enormously costly at a time of economic stagnation. The future of Western defense now looks very bleak.”
Ed Arnold, senior fellow for European security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, added: “The immediate crisis within Europe will be how to continue diplomatic, military and humanitarian support to Ukraine without the United States.”
“Whatever mechanism it is adopted by – NATO, EU or bilaterally – it will be incredibly expensive.”
Perhaps in a sign of things to come, French President Emmanuel Macron told a meeting of European leaders this week that the continent “must not forever delegate our security to the United States.”
He argued that Trump would legitimately “defend the interests of the American people” and asked: “Are we prepared to defend the interests of the European people?”
MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office and 10 Downing Street for comment on the buffer zone claims.