Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday presented a 10-point peace plan to Group of 20 (G-20) countries at the G-20 Summit.
In his address to the G-20 leaders, Zelensky listed nuclear safety, food security, the withdrawal of Russians from occupied territory, and release of all prisoners among the conditions for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. He dubbed it as "special military operation". Though Russian military reached the outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the initial weeks, the Ukrainians have since then consistently defended and pushed back the Russian forces. Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in September and it has since then captured large swathes of land held by Russians.
The Russian poor war-efforts were the reason of the retreat of Russian forces from Kherson, the centre of the province of the same name that Putin had annexed in September along with three other provinces.
Zelenskyy on Tuesday called the Russian retreat from Kherson a "turning point" of the war.
"Kherson is one of the key cities in the south of our country and the only regional centre that Russia managed to occupy after February 24. And now Kherson is already liberated. What does it mean? For Ukraine, this liberation operation of our Defence Forces is reminiscent of many battles of the past, which became turning points in the wars of the past," said Zelensky before laying out the peace plan.
Zelensky had earlier outlined a shorter version of the peace plan, but it's unlikey to be accepted by Russia as it calls for complete Russian military withdrawal and handover of all occupied territories.
What did Zelensky's Ukraine say?
Zelensky said he wants a "just end" to the Ukraine War and he wanted to talk about the plan to achieve it publicly.
Zelensky further said that Ukraine should not be urged to reach compromises in the pursuit of peace. The comment came in the wake of push from the broader world to Ukraine to focus on peace.
"Ukraine should not be offered to conclude compromises with its conscience, sovereignty, territory and independence. We respect the rules and we are people of our word," said Zelensky.
He further said that he suspected that Russia might use any peace as a ruse to re-equip its forces and launch an attack later.
"Apparently, one cannot trust Russia's words, and there will be no Minsks-3, which Russia would violate immediately after signing. If there are no concrete actions to restore peace, it means that Russia simply wants to deceive all of you again, deceive the world and freeze the war just when its defeats have become particularly notable. We will not allow Russia to wait it out, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation," said Zelensky.
Minsk I and II were agreements to stop the conflict that began with the Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014. Sky News reports that the agreements cover ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weapons, an amnesty for fighters, an exchange of hostages, and withdrawal of foreign fighters and equipment from Ukraine. Russia violated these points with the invasion of Ukraine.
The 10-point Ukraine War peace plan
Zelensky listed out the following 10 points that would bring peace to conflict-torn Ukraine:
1. Nuclear safety
Russia has repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons through the war. Moreover, Russians occupy Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, and shelling in and around Zaporizhzhia has frequently disrupted the plant's functioning, such as blowing out its power supply, which have repeated raised questions over its safe operations and fears of a nuclear disaster.
"Russia has turned our Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant into a radioactive bomb that can explode at any moment...Therefore, Russia must immediately withdraw all its militants from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The station must be immediately transferred to the control of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agencies] and the Ukrainian personnel," said Zelensky.
2. Food security
The conflict in Ukraine has disrupted world food supplies and has plunged the world in food insecurity as Russia and Ukraine together are among the largest wheat suppliers to the world.
Russia and Belarus are also some of the largest fertiliser suppliers. The war and a blockade of sea exports has affected food production elsewhere.
3. Energy security
Russia has frequently hit Ukrainian power stations among other critical infrastructure units throughout the war, plunging parts of Ukraine into darkness repeatedly.
"About 40 per cent of our energy infrastructure were destroyed by the strikes of Russian missiles and Iranian drones used by the occupiers. Every week, Russia blows up our power plants, transformers, and electricity supply lines," said Zelensky.
4. Release of prisoners
Zelensky listed that all prisoners and detainees must be released.
Zelensky said thousands of people and around 11,000 children have been forcibly taken to Russia during the war.
"Apart from the children, whose data we know, there are tens of thousands of those who were forcibly deported and about whom we know only indirectly. Among them are many, whose parents were killed by Russian strikes, and now they are being held in the state that murdered them," said Zelensky.
5. Restoration of territories
Zelensky said that occupied territories must be returned to Ukraine under United Nations (UN) norms.
"Russia must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the applicable international legally binding documents," said Zelensky.
6. Cessation of hostilities, military withdrawal
Zelensky said there must be "real and complete" cessation of hostilities.
7. Justice
Ukraine has long produced evidece of war crimes by Russians, covering mass executions, sexual crimes, gendered violence, child abuse, etc.
Moreover, Russia has attacked civilian houses and public infrastructure throughout the war.
Zelensky called for setting up of a tribunal for the prosecution of alleged criminals and a mechanism for the compensation for damages caused.
8. Environmental protection
Large swathes of land has been burnt by fighting and contaminated with explosives through the war. Zelensky said this should stop.
"Millions of hectares of forest were burned by shelling. Almost two hundred thousand hectares of our land are contaminated with unexploded mines and shells...We must also find common responses to all environmental threats created by the war," said Zelensky.
9. Prevention of escalation
Zelensky said Ukraine requires firm assurances that there would not be any escalation of conflict.
He said Ukraine was attacked as it was not a member of any alliance. Notably, if Ukraine would have been a member of NATO, then the collective defence clause of NATO would have meant that all the countries of the alliance, including the United States, would have come to military aid of Ukraine.
We need effective security assurances. That is why we prepared a draft agreement – the Kyiv Security Compact, and have already presented it to partners.
"Thus, we should hold an international conference to cement the key elements of the post-war security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine," said Zelensky.
10. Confirmation of war's end
Zelensky said a formal declaration of the end of the war would need to be signed once all of the nine steps have been taken.
"When all the antiwar measures are implemented, when security and justice begin to be restored, a document confirming the end of the war should be signed by the parties. I would like to emphasize that none of the steps above can take long. A month for one step at the most. For some steps, a couple of days are enough," said Zelensky.
