Two of EU’s biggest economies have also left Ukraine to fend for itself. Both Germany and France have seemingly told Ukraine to follow what Trump says and strike a peace deal as soon as possible. They have had enough of Zelensky’s tantrums, it seems.
Over the weekend, German defence minister said he was willing to send troops to Ukraine: Not to help it fight off Russia but to set up a demilitarized zone. A demilitarized zone is an earmarked region that will be made as part of a Ukraine peace plan proposed by the Trump team.
Trump’s vice president JD Vance last year suggested that a possible plan to end the war might involve creating a “demilitarized zone” between Ukraine and Russia. This zone would likely follow the current borderlines between the two countries.
“Current borderlines” is the key word here. This zone would be set up along the regions currently occupied by Russia. As per Vance, Ukraine would remain a sovereign nation but would need to promise Russia that it wouldn’t join NATO or any similar alliances.
Vance also acknowledged that “Russia should not have attacked Ukraine,” but also pointed out what he called “Ukraine’s issues with corruption.”
It is to be noted that the idea of setting up a demilitarized zone is not endorsed by the outgoing administration of Joe Biden. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller denounced the idea last Thursday and said, “I’m struggling to understand how a demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine would be implemented when Russian forces are currently inside Ukraine.”
Russian leader Putin has also flirted with this idea of setting up a zone. Last week, Putin called for moving the over 600-mile front line deeper into Ukraine to create a buffer between the fighting and Russia’s territory, including the Moscow-occupied regions in southern and eastern Ukraine. It’s a similar plan which was earlier proposed by JD Vance. But so far Ukraine has not been willing to accept it.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, rejected Putin’s proposal on Friday. He stated that a demilitarized zone will indeed be set up after the war ends, but it will be located along “completely different lines” than those suggested by Putin.
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Now as Trump comes in, EU nations themselves have started developing cold feet over supporting Ukraine. For example, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, recently asked Ukraine to have “realistic” expectations on territory.
“There will be no quick and easy solution in Ukraine,” Macron said, adding, “Ukraine needs to have “realistic discussions on territorial issues”, clearly urging Kyiv for the first time to consider territorial concessions.
Germany too has endorsed Trump’s idea of demilitarized zone. Both EU and US are on the same page, Putin too supports the idea. The only obstacle to peace here is Ukraine but I’m sure Trump will take care of that.
Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine within six months, and most likely in the next 100 days. The Trump team will spend upcoming weeks to work out the details of the plan and Zelensky would be forced to agree to the deal.
