Ukraine-Russia border 'demilitarised zone' floated for peace deal

A demilitarised zone between 100 and 120 kilometres wide should be established in Russian border territory with Ukraine as part of any post-war settlement, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office has said. Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the demilitarised zone should cover the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Rostov in order to protect adjacent territories in Ukraine. An aide to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said on Monday that Ukraine had no interest in any ceasefire that locks in Russian territorial gains. "There cannot be a Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, a South African peace plan when you are talking about the war in Ukraine," Zhovkva said in an interview with the Reuters news agency. Russia has said it is open to peace talks with Kyiv, which stalled a few months into the invasion. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, DC, said on Monday that China's foreign ministry had denied a report in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that China's special representative on Eurasian affairs had urged European officials to attempt to end the war in Ukraine before it escalated or consider recognising Russian annexed territory in Ukraine. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denied the report, adding that Ukraine was now at a "Critical juncture" and China would continue to work with all parties to resolve the crisis, the institute reported.