Name: Will Zelensky stay? What will happen in Crimea? Your Ukraine peace talk questions | BBC News
Uploaded: 2025-11-28T17:03:03.000Z
Duration: 26 min 3 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Today we're focusing on efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

A leaked US plan emerged last week with a 28 point draft that included some controversial proposals, including handing over territory Ukraine still holds to Russia, lifting sanctions on Moscow and limiting the size of Ukraine's military.

Now, American teams are expecting in both Kiev and Moscow for continued negotiations, but

Ukrainian troops have been trying to hold back Russian forces in key eastern cities of Pokhovsk and Minorad.

And strikes continue across Ukraine, including in Kyiv on Tuesday where Russian missiles and drones killed seven people.

Now, using BBC expertise from across the region, we're going to answer your questions on where things stand and what happens next.

Now, audiences from the BBC Ukrainian Service have been sending us their questions on social media on the BBC Russian Service telegram.

We've had questions from their audience as well, and

of course, comments from BBC News viewers here in the uk.

Now, to help us answer your questions, we're joined by our Ukraine correspondent, James Waterhouse, who is live in Kyiv for us.

And Orisia Lutsevich, head of the Ukraine Forum at the think tank Chatham House.

We're going to start with this question from Kathy here in the uk she asks, presumably the plan on the table means many people who regard themselves as Ukrainian would then be living in what would become Russia.

Her question is echoed by Vassal in Kiev.

He asks, how will world leaders deal with this issue?

I want to start with you, James, in Kiev, just as a beginning.

Can you just talk to us about which territories we're talking about here and why they're so important for Russian interests?

Well, they're important to Russia because it's what Russia has been able to grab.

After almost four years of fighting, the Russians occupy territory, broadly speaking, in five Ukrainian regions.

And what they are calling for is the complete control of these regions.

And what Ukraine is resisting is being forced to hand over land that they don't occupy.

And so within these individual regions, you have a fortified front line separating Ukrainian controlled territory and Russian occupied territory.

Early on in the war, it was easier, relatively speaking, for those living under occupation to make it out, to make it back to Ukrainian controlled territory.

But of course, that would involve them leaving their homes.

I think we're now at the stage where those who live under occupation have either chosen to do so or have been unable to leave.

You often see people endure incredibly dangerous environments to try and remain in their homes for as long as possible.

So should they wish to return to Ukrainian territory now, it is a less than straightforward path.

It would involve returning, traveling through Russia itself and finding alternative routes to Ukraine.

And so there is this sort of societal division we have seen for some time now where, you know, in cities like Kyiv, you'll meet countless people from the east who have been separated, often from their elderly relatives who worry about them because the Russians control Internet access, they control phone signal.

And so the route out is a complicated one.

It is not impossible, but it's a lot more difficult than it was a few years ago.

Let's bring in Jana Best Piatryuk from BBC Ukrainian.

Jeanno, there is that question of how world leaders will deal with this issue.

And crucially, what's the view from the Ukrainian government itself?

Yeah, this is one of the most sensitive and difficult issues with regard to this so called territorial swoop.

Also, we hear that Trump, the American president, uses this term.

It's not seen like that exactly in Ukraine within the country because actually if it happens and if it's the part of the peace deal, Ukraine won't get any territories back.

And also the part of this port possible deal might be that Ukraine has to cede some of its territories in the east which are controlled now by the Ukrainian forces.

And there are tens of people living there.

And I have for to be honest, I know some of them and I know their opinions for them that there's a pain that might be a huge trauma that they either lose their homes or have to find themselves suddenly citizens of Russia, at least Russia might regard them like that.

Recognized, of course, by Ukraine or the international community.

And also it's important to know that some of these territories that Russia wants to get from Ukraine within this possible future peace deal, they are totally devastated by the war and they are not suitable for the life of people.

This one's coming in from Victoria in Ukraine.

She asks my question concerns the so called rare earth metals agreements that were supposed to take place in February 2025.

I'll throw this question to Orissa Lutzovich at Chatham House.

How would you answer that question from Victoria?

It's a very good question because it touches upon both security and economics.

Ukraine understood from early days of Trump's administration that he's very transactional.

And in order to keep American strategic engagement with Ukraine and to make it interesting as an asset for US Business, they have put forward this offer of rare earth minerals to President Trump.

It has several areas where they there's lithium, there's titanium.

And understanding that right now there is a certain battle for these critical minerals for different economies and western democratic world needs independent supply that is not coming from autocracies such as China.

For example, it set up actually this Ukraine Investment Reconstruction Fund.

And not only that, but Development Finance corporation, which is UK US agency has put in 75 million.

This will be matched by Ukrainian 75 million.

So there will be a fund of 150 million US dollars to start joint projects.

We do know that there are bylaws and rules of how this fund will function approved this year and as early as September already this year there were visits to some of the sites near Kirovo Hrod that are excavating lithium that could be potential investment by a US company called TechMet where US government has a share.

But to have at least one case of investment would be good to demonstrate Ukraine's value.

And you mentioned the security aspect to any such agreement.

We've had a question on this from Angelina also in Ukraine.

She she asks if previously granted security guarantees from America were violated, how can we rely on any future ones?

Do we know what kind of security guarantees are being negotiated and how optimistic is Kyiv that the US will live up to those guarantees?

No, we don't have much of an idea at all really.

I mean we've been speaking to officials this week who are being very disciplined, shall we say, about what compromises are and are not being agreed with negotiations with the Americans.

You know, we had a leaked plan last week, this 28 point plan seemingly put together by America and Russia.

And in it there was a clause saying there would be a coordinated military response according to the wording if Russia was to invade Ukraine again after this war was to end.

But that it's hard to see the will gauge the Western willingness to go into direct confrontation with Russia if that was to happen.

Because you just need to look at the disagreement that is taking place at the moment.

You've got an America that wants Europe to plug the security gap when it comes to Ukraine's future security, the continent's future security.

You have Europe seemingly still reliant on America's military might in order to do that.

And so making promises beyond the end of this war are very hard to visualize.

But it is these kind of security guarantees that will allow or any kind of peace agreement to last.

So we really don't have any idea what is being proposed in terms of troops on the ground, in terms of weapons that would be provided, in terms of what's being described as NATO esque security guarantees.

Ukraine isn't even a member of the military alliance.

And as for Russia, you know, Russia is not climbing down from its demand that there can be no Western troops in Ukraine after the war was to end.

And so it is, it is probably the stickiest of sticking points as these continued peace negotiations take place.

But they are no less crucial to there being a lasting peace in Ukraine which still feels very distant.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Will Zelensky stay? What will happen in Crimea? Your Ukraine peace talk questions | BBC News

obvious

recognize

situation

scale