Ukraine is prepared to agree to a ceasefire with Russia that would include establishing a 30-kilometer (18 miles) demilitarized zone along the front lines, according to US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg.
Kellogg outlined details of a potential freeze in hostilities that would require both Ukrainian and Russian forces to withdraw 15 km (9 miles) from current positions, according to Fox News.
“Ukrainians want to have a comprehensive ceasefire — sea, land, air, infrastructure — for a minimum of 30 days,” Kellogg stated during the interview with Fox News.
The Special Envoy emphasized that Russia is not winning the war, pointing to their failure to capture key Ukrainian cities.
“If they were winning, they would have been on the western side of the Dnipro river. They would be in Kyiv, but they’re not,” he said, adding that both sides have suffered approximately one million casualties.
Estimates from Ukrainian and Western sources indicate that Russia suffered between 920,000 and 960,000 total casualties (killed and wounded) since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine lost 45,000–46,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and 380,000–390,000 wounded.
Under the proposal, the 30-km buffer zone would be monitored by what Kellogg called a “Coalition of the Willing” comprised of countries such as France and Germany, who earlier discussed sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
He expressed optimism about the sustainability of such an arrangement, stating, “If we get to a 30-day ceasefire, it will be extended.”
The proposed agreement would effectively freeze the war along current battle lines, with each side maintaining control of territories they presently hold.
Keith Kellogg referenced historical precedents like Germany and the Baltic states after WWII where territorial disputes were eventually resolved over time.
“We never recognized de jure that the Baltics went to the Soviet Union. We said over time things will change,” Kellogg noted, referencing how the Baltic states eventually regained independence. “The same thing happened in Germany. They didn’t unify right away, but eventually they got it.”
According to Kellogg, Ukraine’s willingness to pursue this path comes after securing agreements on other priorities, including a deal on “precious metals.”
The recent minerals deal, signed on 30 April 2025, establishes a joint United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to support Ukraine’s post-war recovery through investment in the extraction of 57 critical minerals, including lithium, uranium, cobalt, graphite, oil, and gas, from new deposits in Ukraine.
Kellogg emphasized that only President Trump could deliver this agreement, however noting that Russian President Putin must first agree to the terms, though he indicated that Russia has not yet consented to the proposal.
On 5 May, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron also jointly urged Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine to enable meaningful peace talks, emphasizing Ukraine’s willingness to engage as “the party of peace.”
