Zelenskyy open to creating demilitarised zone in Ukraine’s industrial heartland

President Volodymyr Zelensky said figuring out control of the Donbas region is ‘the most difficult point’ (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s war, if Moscow also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces.

The proposal offered another potential compromise on control of the Donbas region, which has been a major sticking point in peace negotiations.