Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said American negotiators asked whether Kyiv would pull forces from the Donbas to join NATO. He said any formal deal would go to a referendum.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said American negotiators asked for the first time whether Ukraine would pull its troops from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for joining NATO. BBC News reported that Zelenskyy discussed the exchange on Saturday following visits by United States envoys to Moscow and Dublin. While Al Jazeera reported that Zelenskyy said the question was asked during talks this week in Abu Dhabi, the Ukrainian leader noted that no concrete offer currently exists.
The development follows recent diplomatic travels by US mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who went to Dublin on Thursday to meet Zelenskyy after holding Kremlin talks with Russia’s president the day before. Earlier in the week, the two warring sides held direct sessions in the United Arab Emirates that produced an agreement on a major prisoner-of-war exchange, though broader peace terms remained stalled.
Conditions for a national referendum
Zelenskyy explained that the idea was presented as an exploratory question rather than a formal draft. “The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins Nato? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelenskyy said.
US officials had previously stated that Ukrainian accession to the transatlantic alliance was off the table, but Zelenskyy said the inquiry suggested that “NATO is back on the agenda.”
Even so, Zelenskyy maintained that Ukrainian forces would not simply pull out of the Donbas, an eastern territory comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He stated that he would consider presenting such a proposal to Ukrainian voters in a national referendum only if it included firm security guarantees, imposed no constraints on Ukraine’s armed forces, and provided funding to rebuild the country. Zelenskyy also rejected amending Ukraine’s constitution to mandate neutrality, saying the step would not ensure lasting security.
Russia’s demands and the territorial dispute
Russia currently occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including most of Donetsk and Luhansk. While the land Ukraine still holds in the Donbas is small in practical terms, yielding it would carry symbolic weight because it would constitute an acceptance of the Donbas being Russian. Zelenskyy has previously spoken of retaking Russian-controlled land across four Ukrainian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Moscow’s negotiating position has shown no signs of shifting. Comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials show that Russia continues to demand territorial concessions, limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, and guaranteed neutrality for Kyiv. Moscow opposes Ukrainian NATO membership and has called another member of the alliance on its border unacceptable.
Zelenskyy warned that Moscow’s push to review European security is dangerous and leads to escalation. He stated that NATO and the European Union represent Europe’s only real security.
Drone strikes across the border
The diplomatic discussions occurred as both countries carried out aerial attacks. In the Russian border region of Belgorod, a Ukrainian drone struck a home in the village of Proletarsky, about 20 kilometers from the border. Russian authorities said the attack killed a mother, a father, and their 24-month-old daughter. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed its army intercepted 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several over the Moscow region.
In turn, Ukraine’s air force stated that Russian forces launched 96 drones beginning Friday evening. Ukrainian defenses shot down or electronically suppressed 81 of them by early Saturday. Officials reported hits at eight locations and falling debris at two others, while a power supplier reported outages in parts of northeastern Sumy.
What happens next in negotiations
Despite deep divisions over land and military status, recent diplomacy has yielded narrow areas of agreement. Last month, US First Lady Melania Trump helped broker a temporary ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky to permit aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
Direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives are slated to continue, with European representatives scheduled to join the next round of sessions.
