By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv, Ukraine, Jan 12 (EFE).- Ukraine is weighing a United States-backed proposal to create a special economic zone in parts of Donbas as a possible element of a future peace deal with Russia.
But the idea is facing strong skepticism at home over security risks, sovereignty concerns, and the lack of credible guarantees.
“The Donetsk region is a matter of national pride and strategic security,” former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda published on Monday, as debate continues over the future of a region Russia demands despite failing to fully capture it after nearly four years of war.
Kuleba expressed doubt about the US proposal that entails a demilitarized free economic zone established in part of Donbas, focusing on reconstruction through tax incentives and other economic stimuli, with no presence of either army.
The proposal is one of two approaches currently being discussed by negotiating teams, alongside freezing the current combat line and later seeking long-term solutions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a recent interview with Bloomberg.
Criticism
A central concern, Kuleba said, is what would prevent Russia from entering the zone once Ukrainian forces withdraw.
“No agreement can be reached unless this issue is resolved,” he said, even if Ukrainians were to accept the painful step of withdrawing from Donetsk in exchange for guaranteed sovereignty and economic prosperity.
Describing the Ukrainian army as “the only guarantor of security,” Volodymyr Sergienko, an entrepreneur from Kramatorsk, told public broadcaster Suspilnet that if the Ukrainian “armed forces withdraw, Russian troops will easily enter under any pretext.”
Economists and diplomats also warn it is unrealistic to expect investment to flow into an area effectively trapped between two hostile forces.
“This is just another attempt to package the transfer of Ukrainian territory to the enemy in a more acceptable form,” Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the US, wrote on social media, as Russia continues to insist on de facto control over the region.
Effort to preserve US support
The proposed free zone forms part of the economic track of ongoing negotiations.
According to The Telegraph, Ukraine hopes to sign an economic agreement with the US in Davos later this month to help attract the estimated $800 billion needed for post-war reconstruction.
President Zelenskyy has said such an agreement could include free trade between Ukraine and the US.
While analysts welcome efforts to deepen economic cooperation with Washington, they caution that the tangible benefits remain uncertain, viewing the move as Kyiv’s attempt to adapt to the transactional approach associated with Donald Trump’s policies.
Uncertain outlook
Security remains the key unresolved issue, Dmytro Vyshnevetskyiy wrote in Daycom newspaper.
“A free economic zone may look attractive on paper, but it does not replace border control or guarantee that investments will not be destroyed by renewed shelling or an offensive,” he wrote.
But many Ukrainians are wary.
“So far, all we have seen is pressure and blackmail from the US against Ukraine,” Nazar Sukhatskyi, a programmer from Lviv, told EFE.
He said the terms of the US-proposed peace framework favor Russia and argued Ukraine should reject any concessions not matched by Moscow, adding that freezing fighting along the frontline would be the best starting point for a long-term settlement.
Kuleba, however, warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin currently has little incentive to halt the war without securing Donetsk.
While Moscow may continue talks with Washington, Russian forces will press on with ground operations and air strikes, he said. EFE
ra-sk
