Ukraine was not offered to withdraw troops from the front and create a buffer zone – Zelenskyy

Ukraine has not been officially proposed to introduce a buffer zone and withdraw troops from the front line in the event of a ceasefire; this idea is "not very alive" today. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference in Kyiv following the results of the meeting of the "coalition of the willing".

The journalist asked about the idea of US President's special envoy Keith Kellogg, who stated that if a ceasefire is reached, Ukraine and Russia will withdraw troops 15 kilometers from the front line on both sides. The official claimed that Kyiv allegedly agreed to such a demilitarized zone.

"I agree with my friends [Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer] on the issue of a complete ceasefire: this first, everything else later. Because there are so many details in everything else. Because the issue that you are talking about, about the demilitarized zone, the buffer zone, the disengagement of troops – I have heard these issues in the media and from many different people, many different intelligence agencies," Zelenskyy replied.

According to the president, no one has officially offered Ukraine "anything like that." However, the head of state added: "Like sappers, everyone is looking for some opportunities to conduct some other experiment with us."

According to Zelenskyy, such an idea is "not very alive" today, since it depends on the format of monitoring the ceasefire. The president also questioned why the troops need to be withdrawn to this distance: "Why 15 km? And from which line will we count? From the border, from which contact line?"

He recalled that the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation began from Belarus, with missiles flying from the territory of this country. The head of state asked whether, in this case, it would be necessary to create a demilitarized zone deep inside this country.

He also asked why troops should be deployed 15 km on both sides, and not deeper, if long-range artillery is capable of hitting 40 km. Zelenskyy added that now is a "different war" than it was during the Minsk process: "Today, drones (FPVs, etc.) fly 50-100 km. This is an analog of artillery. So what are we going to do? Deploy 100 km?"

He asked what would happen to the city of Kherson if the Ukrainian defenders had to withdraw from it.

"If our troops are not in Kherson, we will not have Kherson. Because we know the experience after 2014: at the time when there was a ceasefire, the Russians and separatists were constantly digging [trenches] and moving – 100, 200, 300 meters daily. No one shot at them – they were digging," Zelenskyy explained, noting that the line of confrontation during the freeze in hostilities and at the time of the full-scale invasion was already different.

The head of state cited the example of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region: "Now, thousands of people have died to defend Pokrovsk... And Pokrovsk is a couple of kilometers [from the front line]. What to do with such moments?"

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine "has no illusions" that there will be no ceasefire violations by Russia, but if Ukraine agree to a buffer zone and withdraw 15 km, then "in cities like Kherson, Kharkiv, and Sumy, everyone will have what seems to be peace, but the war will continue because artillery will be shelling them."

• On May 10, Macron, Starmer, Tusk, and Merz arrived in Kyiv for a meeting of the "coalition of the willing," which includes over 30 countries.

• Zelenskyy and his partners had a telephone conversation with US President Trump: Ukraine and all allies offer Russia a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting May 12. Moscow has not yet agreed to this idea.

• British Prime Minister Starmer said that if dictator Putin does not agree to the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, the US and Europe will increase military aid and sanctions against the aggressor country to force it to the negotiating table.