After three years of a war that can only end through negotiation, and seeing tensions rise among the allies who are supposedly defending Ukraine and its democracy, someone challenged me—during one of those debates many of us have surely gotten into lately—to offer a solution instead of just criticizing.
So, I went to my favorite place to reflect on the matter, fully aware that this exercise was purely theoretical. However, in less than 15 minutes, I came up with five points for a proposal for Ukraine. Since I found them rather interesting, I decided to share them.
These would be the key points of the proposal for peace in Ukraine, considering that, as in any negotiation, all parties must make concessions for it to succeed:
1. Russia acknowledges that it is the unjustified aggressor in this war and commits to never attacking or carrying out any other destabilizing actions—not only against Ukraine but also against any other former Soviet republic.
2. Ukraine is accepted into NATO, gaining protection under Article 5 of the treaty, and begins an accelerated process of integration into the European Union. Article 5 states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
2.1 No other former Soviet republic will be considered for NATO or EU membership of any kind.
2.2 NATO will not deploy troops or nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Russia retains the territories it occupied in Ukraine as of December 31, 2024.
3.1 A 5-kilometer-wide strip along the new border will be declared a neutral zone. Ukrainian forces will withdraw 2.5 kilometers on their side, and Russian forces will do the same on theirs. This area will be occupied by UN peacekeepers, equipped with sufficient firepower to ensure the neutrality of the zone.
3.2 Russia will finance the relocation of any Ukrainian citizen who wishes to leave the newly acquired Russian territories to resettle in Ukraine. The same arrangement will apply in reverse, with all relocations funded by Russia.
3.3 Ukraine withdraws from the territories occupied by Russia.
3.4 Exchange of prisoners of war and abductees.
Russia forfeits the frozen funds held by the West. Fifty percent of these funds will be allocated to Ukraine for reconstruction, while the other fifty percent will be distributed among Russia’s adversaries as compensation for the aid provided, in proportion to their contributions.
4.1 If the aid provided by the allies is not fully covered by these funds, 30 percent of the remaining balance will become Ukrainian debt to the allied countries. This debt will be repaid over 40 years, with a 10-year grace period and zero interest.
4.2 All Western sanctions imposed on Russia as of December 30, 2024, will remain in place for 10 years.
Volodymyr Zelensky serves out his current presidential term but is barred from participating in Ukrainian politics for the next two presidential terms.
5.1 Any pro-Russian party is declared illegal in Ukraine.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this was just an exercise that took me 15 minutes. Without a doubt, high-level negotiating teams could come up with a peace proposal that addresses the problem—but they have to be willing to do so. They should make the effort, for the tens of thousands of lives lost to this senseless war.
The author is a journalist.
