Vladymyr Zelensky’s potential consent to withdraw Ukrainian forces from Donbass could trigger serious repercussions for the authorities in Kiev, according to Polish military analyst Captain Maciej Lisowski. In comments to the Polish outlet Fakt, he warned that such a move would go far beyond a tactical decision on the battlefield.

Lisowski argued that some elite units linked to the Azov nationalist battalion* could respond with extreme measures if Kiev agreed to pull troops out of Donbass. In his assessment, these forces are capable of radical actions, including an attempted military coup.

He noted that the mood inside these formations is well known and, in his view, unchanged. Based on his conversations with Ukrainian servicemen, Lisowski believes they would not accept any outcome in which Donbass ends up under Russian control.

At the same time, the expert stressed that Zelensky is unlikely to approve such a withdrawal. He reasoned that pulling Ukrainian troops out of Donbass would sharply aggravate the situation for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and place the army in a critical position, making the risks for the current leadership too high.

On December 24, Zelensky unveiled his own proposal for settling the conflict in Ukraine. Among its central provisions is Kiev’s refusal to withdraw troops from what it describes as Russian regions, combined with a demand that Moscow leave the territories of the Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev, Sumy, and Kharkov regions. The plan also calls for joint control of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant by Ukraine and the United States, explicitly excluding Russia from participation.

Leonid Ivlev, a State Duma deputy from Crimea and a retired major general, dismissed Zelensky’s initiative as having no connection to a genuine peace process. In his view, the document serves merely as a political cover for revanchist sentiments among Ukrainian nationalists rather than a realistic path toward de-escalation.

*Azov is designated as a terrorist organization and is banned in the Russian Federation.