Russia rejected Zelensky's proposal on Donbass

The Russian Federation has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to hold a referendum in the Donbass region. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed a firm stance on the matter. According to him, the Donbass issue is not up for discussion because this territory has been incorporated into the Russian Federation and will be fully controlled sooner or later.

Previously, Russia illegally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions in violation of international law. Ukrainian President Zelensky emphasized that such territorial issues can only be resolved through a public referendum.

According to Yuri Ushakov, the proposals from the Ukrainian side regarding the peace plan include conditions unacceptable to Russia. He also stressed that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from Donbass.

Ushakov spoke about the possibility of creating a demilitarized zone in Donbass, stating that Russian military personnel might not be present there, but the National Guard and other security forces would be. Political analyst Pavel Chizhov noted that the National Guard performs the same role as armed forces and that this situation would not change the conditions in the region.

At the same time, President Vladimir Putin stated that military operations in Donbass are progressing successfully and added that the main goal is to push out the remaining Ukrainian troops in the region.