Ukraine accepts demilitarised zone to end Russia war, but do DMZs work?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv is consenting to crook parts of the Donbas portion that his troops presently power into a demilitarised portion (DMZ), if Russia besides commits to keeping its soldiers retired of this region.

Zelenskyy’s comments correspond Ukraine’s biggest territorial concession truthful acold arsenic helium faces mounting unit from some Russian subject advances and United States President Donald Trump to hold to a ceasefire statement with Moscow.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4As Trump’s tariffs deed Indian fox nuts, the superfood eyes caller markets
• list 2 of 4Majority of Russians expect Ukraine warfare to extremity successful 2026, authorities survey finds
• list 3 of 4Russia claims to person seized much than 5,100 quadrate km of Ukraine successful 2025
• list 4 of 4Photos: Global stories of 2025 successful pictures

The Ukrainian president besides spoke of a 2nd DMZ, adjacent the Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works – Europe’s largest – which is presently controlled by Russia. The DMZ proposals, helium said, were portion of a 20-point bid program seeking the extremity of the Ukraine war, which Zelenskyy connected Tuesday said was backed by the US.

Here is what we cognize astir the plan, and whether demilitarised zones could enactment successful Ukraine.

What is the 20-point bid plan?

Zelenskyy unveiled the program successful a two-hour briefing with journalists, speechmaking aloud from a highlighted and annotated copy. The program was negotiated betwixt negotiators from Washington and Kyiv successful Florida implicit the weekend.

Here’s wherever negotiations basal connected cardinal issues:

• Ukraine’s NATO membership: Russia has insisted, from the commencement of the war, that it volition not judge Ukraine arsenic a portion of NATO. The Trump administration, too, has made wide that Ukraine indispensable springiness up its hopes of joining the North Atlantic subject alliance. But Ukraine continues to defy unit to present law amendments, explicitly stating that it volition enactment neutral and not question NATO membership. “It is the prime of NATO members whether to person Ukraine oregon not. Our prime has been made. We moved distant from the projected changes to the Constitution of Ukraine that would person prohibited Ukraine from joining NATO,” Zelenskyy said connected Tuesday.
• Territorial concessions: Zelenskyy said immoderate connection requiring Ukraine to retreat its troops would person to beryllium approved done a nationalist referendum. Ukraine has repeatedly pointed to its constitution, which prevents the authorities from changing the country’s borders connected its own. But galore analysts judge that Ukraine mightiness request to settee for a midway way – not recognising Russian-occupied regions officially, portion acknowledging that it does not really power them.
• Elections: Zelenskyy said Ukraine volition clasp statesmanlike elections lone aft a bid statement is signed. US President Donald Trump has been pushing for elections successful Ukraine, portion Russia has cited the lack of elections during the warfare to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy.
• Demilitarised zones: Zelenskyy said immoderate areas that Ukraine pulls retired from volition go DMZs, which helium besides called escaped commercialized zones. “They are looking for a demilitarised portion oregon a escaped economical zone, meaning a format that could fulfill some sides,” helium said connected Tuesday, referring to US negotiators.

What are the projected DMZs successful Ukraine?

Russia has demanded afloat power of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that represent the Donbas, historically Ukraine’s concern belt.

Its troops presently power astir each of Luhansk and 70 percent of Donetsk.

The latest connection would impact Ukrainian soldiers pulling retired of the remaining 30 percent of Luhansk – arsenic agelong arsenic Russia does not question to inhabit the region. Instead, that portion is to go a DMZ.

Meanwhile, successful Zaporizhzhia, Russian troops are successful power of a atomic works that Ukraine has tried – truthful acold successful vain – to get back.

The latest connection suggests turning the portion astir the atomic works into a DMZ, too.

But it is unclear however the projected DMZs – if some sides were to hold to them – volition beryllium governed, who mightiness guarantee that some sides play by the rules, and however resources there, specified arsenic the atomic plant, could beryllium shared.

“It’s a constituent successful the program that is expected to fulfill some sides,” Marina Miron, an expert astatine King’s College, London, told Al Jazeera.

“However, I don’t spot however this is going to relation because, successful Ukraine Zelenskyy said that Russia would person to retreat its forces, and we’re talking astir the Donbas, and I don’t spot that happening, particularly if Russia is winning connected the battlefield.”

Miron explained that Ukraine designating demilitarised zones successful this bid program was a maneuver by Ukraine to awesome that it was acceptable for peace, thereby pushing “the diplomatic load connected Russia”.

Has Russia responded?

Moscow has not accepted oregon rejected the latest bid program truthful far.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters connected Wednesday that Russia was “formulating its position” connected the plan. He did not remark connected the specifics of the plan.

What are different demilitarised zones successful the world?

Several DMZs beryllium each implicit the world. Some of them include:

Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean DMZ is simply a 4km- (2.5-mile)- wide buffer portion separating North Korea and South Korea.

It was established successful 1953, aft the Korean War armistice was signed.

The Korean War had breached retired successful June 1950, erstwhile North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel to invade South Korea successful an effort to reunify the peninsula.

Korea was temporarily divided astatine the 38th parallel by the US and the Soviet Union aft World War II. This part placed the Soviet-backed Kim Il-Sung’s Workers’ Party successful power of the North, and the US-supported Syngman Rhee authorities successful the South.

The struggle lasted 3 years, with Soviet- and Chinese-backed bluish troops warring against US-led United Nations forces. It killed an estimated 2 cardinal radical and devastated cities and villages connected some sides.

The warfare concluded with an armistice signed by the US, China, and North Korea, but South Korea refused to agree, and nary ceremonial bid pact was ever concluded. More than 70 years later, the 2 Koreas stay technically astatine war.

United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone successful the Golan Heights

The UN established a constrictive portion of onshore arsenic a DMZ successful the Golan Heights successful 1974 aft the warfare that twelvemonth betwixt Israel and Syria, pursuing an armistice signed by the 2 countries.

The broader Golan Heights is simply a rocky spot of land, which nether planetary instrumentality belongs to Syria. Israel captured it during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it successful 1982, successful a determination recognised lone by the US.

The Observer Force Zone separates Israeli-occupied territory from the remaining portion that is inactive nether Syria’s control. The portion is inactive monitored by UNDOF peacekeepers.

Sinai Peninsula Demilitarised Zones

DMZs were established successful the Sinai Peninsula arsenic portion of the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. The bid pact divided the Sinai Peninsula into 4 information zones with antithetic subject restrictions.

These zones are monitored by an planetary peacekeeping unit called the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO).

Aland Islands

The Aland Islands are a tiny archipelago successful the Baltic Sea, betwixt Sweden and Finland. They are an autonomous, Swedish-speaking portion of Finland.

They person been demilitarised since 1921, arsenic per a determination by the present non-existent League of Nations. Finland and Sweden took the contented to the League due to the fact that successful the aboriginal 20th century, the islands were portion of Finland, which gained independency from the Tsarist Russian Empire successful 1917.

After this, galore Alanders wanted to reunite with Sweden, which spurred tensions.

Antarctica

Antarctica has been established arsenic a demilitarised portion nether the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.

This forbids subject enactment and atomic testing, ensuring the continent is utilized exclusively for peaceful purposes and technological research.

This is due to the fact that respective nations had made overlapping territorial claims successful Antarctica, raising fears of aboriginal conflicts.

Preah Vihear temple

The Thailand-Cambodia border, shaped by French colonial-era delineation, contains ambiguous boundaries and overlapping claims.

These disputes person grown much contentious arsenic some countries strengthened their institutions and the strategical worth of definite areas increased.

One of the contested zones is the culturally important Preah Vihear temple from the Khmer Empire, which is symbolically important to some nations. In 1962, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

Disputes erupted from 2008 to 2011, marked by exchanges of artillery fire, wide displacements and duelling ineligible interpretations of the ICJ ruling.

In 2011, the ICJ ordered a provisional demilitarised portion astir the temple.

Have DMZs worked before?

DMZs person been considerably palmy successful immoderate cases, specified arsenic successful the lawsuit of Korea.

The portion betwixt North and South Korea has prevented the 2 from large-scale subject conflict.

On the different hand, unit broke retired implicit the Preah Vihear temple betwixt Thailand and Cambodia connected December 7 this year, sidesplitting 40 radical and displacing astir a million, according to authoritative counts. The 2 countries reported new clashes connected Wednesday.

In different cases, specified arsenic successful the Golan Heights oregon Sinai Peninsula, demilitarised zones person prevented direct, large-scale clashes.

However, Israel has repeatedly violated the Golan Heights buffer zone, particularly implicit the past year, utilizing the chaos pursuing the ouster of erstwhile President Bashar al-Assad successful December 2024 to drawback territory and expel Syrian families. The UN has criticised Israel’s DMZ violations.