The advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the demilitarized zone should be between 100 and 120 kilometers wide.
An adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office said a demilitarized zone 100 to 120 kilometers (62 to 75 miles) wide should be established in Russia’s borderlands with Ukraine as part of any post-war settlement.
The demilitarized zone should cover the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Rostov in order to protect neighboring regions of Ukraine, said Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the chief of staff of the President of Ukraine.
“To ensure the real security of the residents of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk and protect them from bombing, it will be necessary to create a 100-120 kilometer demilitarized zone,” Podolyak wrote in a tweet on Monday.
Such an area, which military forces cannot use or occupy, would likely require a “mandatory international monitoring unit in the first phase,” Podolyak said.
The presidential adviser, who has 1.2 million followers on Twitter, said the demilitarized zone should be a “major topic” for a post-war settlement, adding that such a barrier would “prevent a recurrence of aggression in the future.”
The main theme of the settlement after the war should be the establishment of guarantees to prevent the recurrence of aggression in the future. To ensure the real security of the population of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk and protect them from bombing, …
– ихайло Подоляк (Podolyak_M) May 29, 2023
The International Committee of the Red Cross says there are detailed rules for Establishment and recognition of demilitarized zones The concept is not far from hospital zones and other areas considered neutral during conflicts.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine had no interest in any ceasefire that would lock in Russia’s territorial gains.
Senior Diplomatic Adviser Ihor Zovkva also opposed international peace overtures from China, Brazil, the Vatican and South Africa, saying the time for mediation with Moscow had passed.
In this period of open warfare, we don’t need any middlemen. It is too late for mediation. “There can be no Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, or a South African peace plan when you talk about the war in Ukraine,” Zovkva said in an interview with Reuters news agency.
Russia said it was open to peace talks with Kiev, which stalled a few months after the invasion. But Moscow also insists that any talks are based on “new realities”, namely the recognition of the annexation of five Ukrainian provinces that it controls in whole or in part – a condition Kiev will not accept.
China has adopted a 12-point vision for peace, which calls for a cease-fire but does not condemn the invasion or commit Russia to withdraw from occupied territories.
Beijing, which has close ties to the Russian leadership, sent its senior envoy Li Hui to Kiev and Moscow this month to encourage peace talks.
Zovkva said the envoy was briefed in detail on the situation on the battlefield, at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, the power grid, and the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, which Kiev says is a Russian war crime.
“He listened very intently. There was no immediate response…we’ll see. China is a wise country that understands its role in international affairs,” Zovkva said.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said on Monday that China’s foreign ministry denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that the Chinese special representative for Eurasian affairs had urged European officials to try to end the war. The war in Ukraine before it escalates or considers recognizing the lands annexed by Russia in Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning denied the report, adding that Ukraine is now at a “critical juncture” and that China will continue to work with all parties to resolve the crisis, the institute reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning denied a WSJ Report that #ChinaSpecial Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui urged European officials to end the conflict in Egypt # Ukraine before it mounts. https://t.co/yvUY7gYFDU https://t.co/jClvvEglgo
– ISW (The Study of War) May 30, 2023
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