No NATO Near Russia Anymore: Kyiv Accepts Idea of Demilitarized Buffer Zone

Advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, who participates in negotiations as part of the Ukrainian delegation, announced that Kyiv agrees to the creation of a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbas.

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Moscow

He explained that the demilitarized zone should exist on both sides of the front line. He added that negotiators must decide "whether to withdraw all types of weapons or only heavy weapons.”

The advisor argued that such a step creates a logical path to end the conflict. At the same time, Podolyak emphasized that Kyiv considers the presence of a foreign contingent and monitoring missions in the demilitarized zone a mandatory condition.

According to comments by presidential aide Yury Ushakov, Donbas may see neither Russian nor Ukrainian regular forces stationed there, though the Russian National Guard and police units could remain. Under such terms, a demilitarized zone may take shape.

Reactions in Moscow

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky sharply rejected Kyiv's proposal. He insisted that Europe and Ukraine set conditions that Moscow will not accept.

"Europe needs war. Europe wants to complete its task — the destruction of the Orthodox Slavic people. This is their number one objective.”

The lawmaker reminded that, according to the Russian constitution, the territories of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, already form part of the Russian Federation.

He also referred to the position of President Vladimir Putin, who insists that Ukraine must assume neutral, non-aligned status, with foreign partners free to help rebuild its economy.

"If this does not happen, we will need to create a buffer zone not with Ukraine, but with NATO. Because NATO today occupies Ukraine.”

Member of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrei Kolesnik called the reports about the demilitarized zone an attempt to test Moscow's reaction. He urged negotiators to define the legal status of the territories before further steps.

Debate Over the Size of the Buffer Zone

According to Vodolatsky, the buffer zone must guarantee that civilians feel secure. He stated that "no missile and no drone should cross into our territory.” He added that NATO's supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine influences the required width of the zone: the longer the range of Ukrainian missiles, the wider the security belt must become.

"Or, once again: a binding international treaty must be signed with guarantor nations — India, China, the US — confirming Ukraine's non-aligned status and guaranteeing that NATO does not approach Ukraine's borders.”

Military expert Yevgeny Mikhailov argued that the buffer zone on the Ukrainian border should stretch no less than 300 kilometers. He noted that this would include newly incorporated territories.

Growing Tensions Along the Front

The peace plan drafted by the US administration of Donald Trump includes the creation of a demilitarized zone and proposes limiting the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 800,000 personnel. According to circulating proposals, the future demilitarized zone could receive international recognition as Russian territory, although Russian troops would not enter it, mirroring the "Korean model.”

On December 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that work on a security strip in Ukraine's border regions proceeds according to plan.

"The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to carry out the tasks of the special military operation and advance confidently along the entire front.”

Military expert Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Shalandin reported intense fighting in the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions and said a new security belt is forming there.