Could a DMZ Solve the Ukraine war?

Key Points and Summary – Amid the ongoing push for a peace deal, a controversial U.S. proposal to create a demilitarized zone (DMZ) between Russia and Ukraine has emerged as a potential, though contentious, solution.

-Modeled after the Korean DMZ, the idea is to establish a wide, heavily monitored buffer zone to enforce a ceasefire and deter future aggression.

-While some military analysts see it as a realistic path to a lasting peace, the concept has been met with a cool reception from European allies, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already dismissed the proposal as “dead.”

Could a DMZ be Part of the Ukraine War Solution?

Steve Witkoff, the Trump Administration’s all-purpose foreign policy envoy, said in an interview this week that he is hopeful the Russia-Ukraine war will end with a peace deal at some point before the end of the year. However, it remains to be seen exactly what form such a deal would take.

Could a demilitarized zone (DMZ) be part of the solution?

The Kyiv Post reported this week that it has learned from “diplomatic sources” that such a plan has been floated by the U.S.

“US officials have recently floated a controversial peace proposal centered on a demilitarized zone (DMZ), a concept that has not been well-received by European counterparts,” the report said.

The Europeans, a diplomatic source told the Kyiv Post, are not “awfully fan” of the idea. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called it a “dead” proposal.

The Case for a DMZ 

The Kyiv Post report did find one source who liked the idea.

Retired US Army Colonel Richard Williams, a onetime Deputy Director of the Armaments Section in NATO’s Defense Investment Division, told the Kyiv Post that the “only credible ‘security guarantee’ would be generally replicating the ambitious Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) used to divide the two Koreas when the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953.”

He added that the zone would need to be much larger than the Korean one.

“Approximately 4 kilometer width would be reasonable,” Williams suggested, with “sensors, drones & other surveillance capabilities would reduce the requirement for a large peacekeeping force.”

“Should a belligerent aggression make it to the 2 kilometer point, certain measures can be taken. In the case of Ukraine, a NATO-like Article 5 would be proposed to be invoked as a consequence of the aggression,” he added, although the lack of cooperation from Europe, in that case, would potentially kill the idea in its tracks.

Another DMZ Case 

The idea of a DMZ between Ukraine and Russia is not an entirely new one.

In fact, it was floated last November, in an interview with Radio Free Europe by Lieutenant Colonel Jahara “Franky” Matisek, who is an active-duty U.S. Air Force officer, Bronze Star recipient, and a professor in the national security affairs department of the U.S. Naval War College.

“There is a model for this; it is basically how North Korea and South Korea had to be essentially split up. Is that a best ideal outcome? No, of course the best ideal outcome is all Russian forces leaving the entirety of Ukraine. But we have to go back to being realistic,” Matisek said in the interview. “How much are the Americans and the Canadians and the Europeans willing to fight and die for every centimeter of Ukrainian territory? And that becomes a question of political willpower and domestic politics. I think it’s just an easier sell having to lock this in place.”

And that’s where the DMZ idea comes in.

“And you essentially create a huge DMZ [demilitarized zone], essentially between Ukraine and Belarus, Russia, and the occupied parts of Ukraine. And that would just basically be millions of land mines and Ukrainian defense bases, with probably European Union-flag forces essentially as observers, peacekeepers, and as a part of that sort of deterrent line. It would essentially become just one big trip-wire deterrent, if you will. That would be an ideal outcome for a lot of countries, especially in Europe. It’s really depressing and unfortunate, but it’s hard to make that case to the average American or average European, that this war is worth actually fighting and dying for.”

Russia’s President Putin Sitting at a Desk. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

He added that such a DMZ would need to be a “European Union-flag mission,” since NATO likely would not want such a mission.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies also recently listed a DMZ as among the options for

“Whatever the outcome of the range of bilateral and multilateral talks surrounding Ukraine, one thing is clear: any lasting peace will require a demilitarized zone (DMZ) backed by an international military force. This zone could stretch over thousands of kilometers, traversing complex and hazardous terrain, including bombed-out cities and mine-laden fields,” the CSIS analysis said.

About the Author: Stephen Silver 

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.

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