Zelenskyy: Idea of creating buffer zone 30 km from front is "lifeless" today
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers the idea of creating a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone on the front line in the war with Russia "not very viable" today.
The head of state said this during a press conference following a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, Censor.NET reports.
According to the president, Ukraine has not been officially offered such a proposal.
"First, a ceasefire, then everything else. Because there are a lot of details, in particular, about the demilitarized zone, the buffer zone, the disengagement of troops. I have heard these questions in the media, as well as from many different people and from different intelligence agencies. No one has officially offered anything like this to Ukraine, but everyone, like sappers, is looking for some opportunities to conduct an experiment with us. Today, I think this idea is not very viable, because it is a matter of monitoring," Zelenskyy said.
He explained that there is no understanding of where to start counting the front line. Another important point is the cities that are partially occupied.
"The issue of the demilitarized zone in both directions is 15 kilometers - why 15? And from which line will we count? Even if you talk about 15 kilometers, what are we going to do with the city of Kherson? If our troops are not in Kherson, we will not have Kherson," the President of Ukraine emphasized.
He reminded that Ukraine has had a negative experience since 2014, when Russians used the ceasefire to strengthen their positions and slowly advance.
"We have experience after 2014. At the moment when there was a ceasefire, Russians and separatists were constantly digging, digging, digging and moving - 100 meters, 200 meters, 300 meters every day. No one shot at them, and they dug... Now thousands of people have died to defend Pokrovsk. Pokrovsk is a couple of kilometers away. If we now agree to a buffer zone and move back 15 kilometers, cities like Kherson, Kharkiv, and Sumy will all seemingly have peace, but they will continue to have war. Because artillery will be flying to them. Therefore, it is premature to talk about this today," Zelensky added.
He also does not believe that Russia will comply with the ceasefire.
Earlier, US Special Representative Keith Kellogg said that Kyiv allegedly favors freezing the conflict along the current front lines and creating a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone.
