Zelensky says US raised Donbas-for-NATO trade-off

Zelensky says US raised Donbas-for-NATO trade-off
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said US envoys raised the prospect of Ukraine relinquishing the Donbas in exchange for joining NATO, a proposal he described as the first time such a trade-off had been put to Kyiv.

According to Zelensky, the question from the American side was direct: “What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?” He said it marked “the first time this was raised.” The reported discussion followed meetings involving US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Abu Dhabi, then separate talks in Moscow and Dublin.

The accounts characterize the exchange differently from a finalized peace plan. They present it as a negotiating question that could signal a shift in Washington’s approach, while Zelensky stresses that Kyiv is still seeking concrete security guarantees from both NATO and the European Union. He said that, if Western states confirmed such guarantees, he would ask Ukrainians whether to accept them: “I do not have the right to make this decision alone.”

Zelensky’s position is that a broader settlement cannot begin with redesigning Europe’s security arrangements. “This war must end first,” he said, warning that Moscow’s calls for a redistribution of power in Europe were dangerous. Ukraine has rejected Russia’s demand that its forces fully withdraw from the Donetsk region, arguing that doing so would leave the country vulnerable to further attacks.

The reports also note a point of partial convergence: future negotiations should include European representatives. But while the US question links territorial concessions to alliance membership, Zelensky frames any decision as one for Ukrainian society, contingent on credible Western protection and an end to the war.

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