Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said US negotiators raised the idea of Ukraine withdrawing from the Donbas region in exchange for NATO membership, in the latest round of diplomacy aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Zelensky said the question was put to him after the latest round of peace talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi. He said it was the first time the idea had been raised with him in that form.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’” Zelensky told reporters, in remarks released by his office on Saturday. “This was the first time this had been raised.”
01. What the US envoys proposed
According to Zelensky, the question was raised by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during the talks in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November. The two envoys had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, before travelling to Dublin to brief Zelensky.
The idea would link the NATO membership Kyiv has long sought to a territorial concession it has consistently refused to make. Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine’s land, and the Donbas — made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions — is at the centre of Moscow’s demands. Russia has insisted Ukraine give up the parts of Donbas it still holds.
02. Zelensky: Kyiv will not give up its land
Zelensky repeated that Ukraine will not retreat from its own territory. But he did not reject the American idea outright.
He said that if he received a confirmed proposal that included security guarantees from NATO and the European Union, a strong and well-funded Ukrainian army, and money to rebuild the country, he would put it to Ukrainian society.
“If the American side confirms this to us together with other NATO colleagues, then I will ask the opinion of our society: do we accept or do we not accept?” he said. Any such step, he added, would come “without any recognition of occupied territories as Russian”.
03. Washington has not confirmed the claim
The White House has said nothing on the record about a Donbas-for-NATO exchange, and no US official had confirmed or denied the question by Saturday. The account so far rests on Zelensky’s description of the conversation.
The disclosure comes as the US-led talks widen. After the Abu Dhabi round, the envoys said Russia had agreed to let European representatives join the next round of negotiations, and the two sides agreed the largest prisoner exchange of the war.
04. Why this matters
The proposal, if real, would mark a sharp shift. The US had earlier ruled out Ukrainian membership of NATO, and Kyiv had refused to trade land for security. Zelensky himself said NATO membership now appears to be “back on the agenda”, but warned the conversation is “extremely difficult” given Putin’s position.
For now, the idea remains a question raised in talks, not a deal. Whether Washington confirms it — and whether Moscow would ever accept Ukraine in NATO — will decide if it goes any further.
