Ukraine–Russia peace talks refocus on Donbas demilitarized zone, NYT reports

The arrangement was discussed previously, before the 28-point U.S.-backed peace plan emerged in November 2025.

To make the idea more palatable to both sides, negotiators also discussed establishing a free-trade zone within any demilitarized area, the report said. Another key issue was withdrawal of forces from the front line. In December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not pull back its forces unless Russia did so by an equal distance.

Participants at talks in Abu Dhabi this month explored options for a partial withdrawal of Russian forces from the front that would not necessarily be symmetrical, two people familiar with the discussions told The New York Times. The report said that reflected a softening of Kyiv’s position.

“How a demilitarized zone would be governed has also been a sticking point,” the article said.

“Ukraine has pressed for an international peacekeeping force to be deployed to the region, which is home to 190,000 civilians including 12,000 children, according to the area’s Ukrainian governor.”

“The negotiators discussed forming a civilian administration to rule the area after the war, two of the three people familiar with the talks said.”

The second day of Ukraine–U.S.–Russia talks in Geneva lasted only two hours, but the heads of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, later met separately from the rest of the participants. There has been no indication of what they might have discussed during their two-hour-long meeting.

In an evening video address on Feb. 18, Zelenskyy said the results of the Geneva talks were lackluster.

“Ukraine is interested in a result; as of today, we cannot say the result is sufficient...,” he said.

“Sensitive political questions, questions about possible compromises and the needed leaders' meeting have not been worked through enough.”