Ukraine’s soldiers react to US peace plan

Ukraine’s frontline soldiers have reacted to draft US peace proposals with a mixture of defiance, anger and resignation.

The BBC spoke to half a dozen who sent us their views via social media and email in response to the original US plan – details of which were leaked last week.

Since then, American and Ukrainian negotiators have been working on changes to the proposals – and are set to continue talks about the “peace framework”.

Of the original US plan, Yaroslav, in eastern Ukraine, says it “sucks… no one will support it” while an army medic with the call sign Shtutser dismissed it as an “absolutely disgraceful draft of a peace plan, unworthy of our attention”.

But one soldier with the call sign Snake told us “it’s time to agree at least on something”.

This is what the soldiers who spoke to the BBC had to say about some of the key points in the original US draft peace plan.

The US put forward a draft peace proposal at a time when Russia is making significant advances on the battlefield. Over the past month alone Ukraine has lost a further 450 sq km to Russia.

Kyiv still controls around 15% of the Donbas region, the eastern part of Ukraine encompassing the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts which is a key war goal for Russia. But the original US plan proposes that Ukraine give up the entire region – even parts it has successfully defended for nearly four years of full-scale war.

“Let them take it,” Snake told the BBC. “There’s practically no one left in the cities and villages… We’re not fighting for the people but for the land, while losing more people.”

Andrii, an officer in Ukraine’s general staff, says that what is being proposed for Luhansk and Donetsk is “painful and difficult” but he suggests the country may have no other choice.

Ukraine has been defending the region since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces seized parts of the Donbas. “We may not want to give it up, but we won’t be able to hold it by military force and resources,” Andrii says.

Eastern Ukraine has been the scene of the heaviest fighting in this war, and Ukraine has lost tens of thousands of troops defending it.

Matros, who has been fighting since 2018, told us giving up the Donbas would “nullify everything – all the efforts of the armed forces”.

“It will disregard the lives of fallen soldiers and civilians,” he said.

The US draft peace plan envisages limiting the size of Ukraine’s armed forces to 600,000. That is still significantly more than before the full-scale invasion when its full-time strength was around 250,000, but smaller than its current size. The most recent estimates suggest Ukraine’s military strength is more than 800,000.

Snake believes the country will need many of those currently in uniform to help rebuild Ukraine when the war ends. “What’s the point of having so many people in the army if there will be security guarantees?” he asks.

Andrii the staff officer agrees. “If there are security guarantees, then of course there’s no point in keeping such a large army,” he says. “People are tired and want to return to their families. There’s no reason to keep them in a peacetime army after the war.” He believes Ukraine’s economy would be unable to sustain such large armed forces in peacetime.

Army medic Shtutser does not agree, saying that Ukraine’s army “is the only thing separating us from defeat and enslavement” while Matros calls the proposal to reduce the size of the armed forces “absurd and manipulative”.

Ukraine’s willingness to agree to the proposals will depend on its future security guarantees.

The US draft plan rules out Ukraine’s membership of Nato, but not of the European Union. There is a promise of US security guarantees if Russia were to attack again, though no further detail on the measure of that support. The draft also rules out the presence of Nato forces in Ukraine, if there is a deal.

But Yevhen, a drone operator in eastern Ukraine, thinks the presence of foreign troops in the country is an important security guarantee. The UK and France have been leading efforts to provide a “reassurance force” in the event of a ceasefire, through a “Coalition of the Willing”.

“I like the UK’s plan to put troops into Ukraine [through this coalition],” he says. “This is the only plan that will help us win, to introduce allied troops.”

But staff officer Andrii does not believe Europe can provide much in the way of security guarantees. “Europe has turned out to be completely spineless and divided,” he says. “It seems all hope rests only on the United States.”

However, other soldiers suggest there is no great faith in the US either. “US security guarantees under its current government are not guarantees at all,” says Schtutser.

The US draft plan sets out a proposal for Ukraine to hold fresh elections within 100 days of the end of the war. Under Ukraine’s constitution, elections cannot be held during in time of war.

But there are signs of growing frustration with the current government which is facing serious allegations of corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is currently investigating allegations of individuals profiting from contracts in the energy sector to the tune of $100m (£76m).

President Volodymyr Zelensky has already been forced to sack two of his ministers, both of whom deny the allegations. A former deputy prime minister and business partner are also under investigation. The scandal has led to political infighting and has dominated the headlines here.

It is a live topic on the front too. Among those soldiers we spoke to there is support for fresh elections. “Of course they are needed – those in power right now are not trusted,” says Snake. Another soldier, Marin, is also in favour of elections, saying that the current government “needs to be cleansed of corruption”, while Andrii agrees that a “complete reset of government is needed” through fresh elections, though not right away.

Fresh elections may well be the least controversial proposal in the plan. But overall there are serious misgivings about the US proposals. Yaroslav tells us it simply “won’t work” while Oleksandr dismisses it with an expletive.

The one clear message from those we talked to is that many are tired of fighting. Andrii has concerns about some of the proposals but concludes: “If it stops the war, then it works for me.”