Trump’s Proposed Plan to End the Ukraine War: Key Details, Including a “Demilitarized Zone”

15th September 2024

3 minutes read

Trump’s Proposed Plan to End the Ukraine War: Key Details, Including a "Demilitarized Zone"

Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, J. D. Vance, has revealed Donald Trump’s administration’s intentions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

In a podcast interview, Vance also stated that the “peaceful settlement” might involve preventing Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and “creating a demilitarized zone in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia,” according to the Washington Post.

He added that the proposed demilitarized zone would be “heavily fortified so the Russians do not invade it again,” noting that Ukraine would maintain its independence “in exchange for neutrality,” meaning it would not join NATO or any other Western alliances.

Vance’s remarks represent the clearest and most recent plan suggested by Republicans so far to end the war, which began following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is “able to end the war” in Ukraine after being elected on November 5, and “before officially taking office” in January.

During his last debate with his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, Trump reiterated that he could end the war before officially becoming president, but did not specify how.

Last week, in an interview with Lex Fridman, Trump said: “I have a very specific plan for how to stop Ukraine and Russia. I have a particular idea, maybe not a plan, but an idea for China,” later adding, “But I can’t give you those plans because if I do, they won’t work. Part of it is the element of surprise.”

Vance, in his recent interview, also said that Russia “should not have invaded” Ukraine, but added, “the Ukrainians also have many corruption problems.”

Vance did not specify who would control the “demilitarized zone,” but said the “current demarcation line” would remain, meaning that “Ukraine will not regain the territories controlled by Russia,” according to the Washington Post.

Vance also noted that Europe “has not sufficiently funded this war while U.S. taxpayers have been extremely generous,” a charge often made by Trump, who said in Tuesday’s debate that the U.S. had spent $250-275 billion on Ukraine—more than twice what Europe had spent.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, annexed in 2014, as well as large areas in other regions like Donbas.

In April, individuals who discussed Trump’s proposal to resolve the conflict, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post that his plan involved Ukraine ceding Crimea and the Donbas border region to Moscow.

In response to Vance’s recent comments, Harris’s campaign highlighted a speech by the U.S. vice president at the “Peace Summit” in June, where the Democratic presidential candidate at the time mentioned a ceasefire proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that month. The proposal required Ukraine to withdraw its troops from four Russian-occupied regions, lift Western sanctions imposed on Russia, and abandon its bid to join NATO.

In her speech, Harris said Putin “is not calling for negotiations. He is calling for surrender.”

In September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a 10-point peace plan to the U.N., which included a full Russian withdrawal, restoration of pre-2014 borders, and an international court to prosecute Russian war crimes.

Putin previously stated that he “is willing to negotiate,” but clarified that it “must be on his terms.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that any peace plan “must recognize the reality on the ground,” meaning Russia retaining the territories currently occupied by its forces.