00:00Over the weekend, the European Union has reportedly released a counter-proposal
00:05in response to the initial US-Russia framework, which was leaked last week.
00:11Now, the EU's plan includes major adjustments, including Ukraine's military captured 800,000 troops in peacetime,
00:20rather than just 600,000 troops in the initially proposed plan.
00:25There's also significant change regarding Kyiv's NATO aspirations.
00:30Ukraine joining NATO falls on consensus and agreement among the alliance's members,
00:35instead of NATO committing to not accepting Ukraine.
00:39Notably, there is also a point about NATO troops not being stationed on the territory of Ukraine under its command,
00:46but specifically in peacetime.
00:49One of the most important aspects of any possible deal for Kyiv concerns Russia's occupied territories of Ukraine
00:59and the EU-led leaked plan drops the recognition of temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,
01:06which was included in last two weeks' US-Russia framework.
01:10Now, the territory in question is Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk region,
01:15which altogether make up the region of Donbass.
01:18Moscow renewed its assaults against Ukrainian troops and Ukraine's territory in the region of Donetsk,
01:25specifically when it comes to the city of Pokrovsk.
01:29But according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War,
01:33even with the current pace and currently dedicated massive resources,
01:39Russian forces could seize the rest of Donetsk region only by August 2027.
01:46Most importantly, the leaked EU-led proposal brings back the idea of first having a ceasefire at the current contact line
01:55and then for Ukraine and Russia to start the negotiations regarding the rest of the possible deal,
02:01including the temporarily occupied territories.
02:03But this is the aspect that Moscow has been rejecting from the very beginning.
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