RussiaAugust 25, 2026 5:09 pm • 2 min readRussian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov speaks on a mobile phone during a Russian-Kazakh forum, on July 25, 2026, in Omsk, Russia. (Contributor/Getty Images)The Kremlin on Aug. 25 shot down a U.S.-backed proposal to establish a free economic zone in Ukraine's Donbas as part of a potential peace deal, alleging the region belongs to Russia."It is unlikely that any third party could administer Russia's regions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.Russia views the partially occupied Donbas — an eastern Ukrainian region comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts — as its territory and has incorporated this claim into its constitution. Moscow's demand that Kyiv cede the areas still under Ukrainian control has become a key sticking point in peace talks, as Ukraine continues to call for a ceasefire along the current front lines.Peskov's comments come after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a one-page peace plan drafted by Ukraine, the U.S., and European partners included Washington's proposal for a buffer zone in Donbas."In other words, we and the Russians both take equal steps back, creating a buffer called a free economic zone under some kind of administration," Zelensky told journalists during a press briefing over the weekend."It is still unclear whose administration, but it would be some kind of third party."The peace proposal also included a ceasefire and outlined the roles NATO and the EU would play in the effort, Zelensky said, without providing further details.The president added that he sees a window of opportunity to advance peace talks between the December G20 summit in the U.S. and the end of next summer, when the U.S. presidential election campaign begins.