Good evening. I'm William Brangham. I'm the Navaz and Jeff Bennett are away.

On the news hour tonight, Ukraine proposes demilitarized zones in parts of the Russian occupied east,

the latest plan for ending the nearly four-year invasion. Judy Woodruff reports from a small

New Hampshire town on how the

answer to political divisions may begin within our own communities. When we don't have that sense

of belonging, our nervous system is literally on fire. We are vulnerable to extreme views and to

extreme behaviors because we feel so unsafe.

And during the Christmas season, Palestinian Christians make the journey to and from Bethlehem navigating Israeli checkpoints along the way. Welcome to the NewsHour.

Ukraine's president has floated a possible compromise to a key Russian demand that

Kiev give up territory in eastern Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky's

proposal could address one of the main sticking points that have bogged down U.S.-led negotiations.

This, as Ukraine marks its fourth consecutive Christmas under full-scale Russian invasion.

But Moscow has given no indication whether it might agree. Nick Schifrin joins us now.

Nick, so what did Zelensky say today about this critical question about the eastern part of

Donetsk? So this was a briefing that Zelensky gave to journalists in Kiev embargoed until today,

where he revealed the 20 points of the 20-point peace plan, And he talked about the fate of the Donets.

That is the most contentious part. Zelensky says the current proposal would be to demilitarize

or create a free economic zone in the portion of Donetsk that Ukraine still holds but is fighting

over. You see, that's the light gray area inside Donetsk on the map.

Ukraine's military would have to withdraw from that territory, which Russia has failed to capture

through 11 years of war.

The compromise that Zelensky told journalists is, quote, we consider a free economic zone,

...