Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zelensky said the American side had raised the idea of linking Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas with a pathway into the NATO military alliance. He described it as the first time such an arrangement had been explicitly discussed during negotiations.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time that this had been raised,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president made clear that Kyiv would not automatically accept an agreement requiring it to surrender territory to Russia. However, he indicated that he could put the proposal to a public vote or seek the opinion of Ukrainian society if Washington and other NATO members provided concrete security commitments.
Zelensky stressed that he could not make such a consequential decision independently.
“If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not?” he said.
He added that Ukraine needed specific details about the proposed arrangement before considering whether it could form the basis of a peace agreement.
Donbas Remains the Biggest Obstacle to Peace
The Donbas region, comprising the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, has remained one of the most difficult issues in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
Russia has controlled substantial parts of the region since the conflict began in 2014 and expanded its occupation following the full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, Ukrainian forces continue to hold positions in parts of Donbas, making the territory a central issue in any potential settlement.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, gaining control over the remaining Ukrainian-held areas has been a longstanding objective. Moscow has also repeatedly opposed Ukraine’s potential membership in NATO, arguing that the alliance’s expansion towards Russian borders threatens its security.
NATO expansion was among the arguments Putin used to justify launching the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The reported American proposal would therefore involve two major concessions: Ukraine potentially relinquishing territory that Russia has failed to capture completely, while Moscow would have to accept Ukraine joining the Western military alliance.
However, Zelensky’s remarks suggest that the proposal remains at the discussion stage rather than representing an agreed framework.
Zelensky Demands NATO-Style Security Guarantees
Even if Ukraine considered withdrawing from Donbas, Zelensky said any settlement would have to provide substantial protections against another Russian invasion.
He outlined several requirements, including maintaining a strong Ukrainian military, securing sufficient weapons, receiving continued financial assistance and obtaining binding security guarantees from NATO countries and the European Union.
Zelensky specifically told American negotiators that protections resembling NATO’s Article 5 collective defence commitment would represent the minimum acceptable standard.
Under Article 5, an armed attack against one NATO member is treated as an attack against the entire alliance, requiring other members to assist the country under attack through measures they consider necessary.
For Kyiv, similar guarantees would be intended to prevent Russia from using a temporary peace agreement to prepare for another military offensive.
The question of whether NATO members would be prepared to offer Ukraine comparable protection without immediately granting full alliance membership remains a major issue.
Abu Dhabi Peace Talks Produce New Proposals
Zelensky’s comments came after two days of US-mediated discussions involving Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi last week.
The negotiations were facilitated by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff as Washington continued efforts to develop a framework for ending the war.
In a post on X on Saturday, Kushner indicated that the discussions had produced several new proposals that were now being examined.
“Several new ideas emerged from these discussions and are now being explored,” he wrote, without directly confirming or addressing the reported possibility of exchanging Ukrainian-controlled Donbas territory for NATO membership.
Kushner also emphasised the importance of NATO to European security, saying the alliance would remain a critical part of the continent’s defence framework.
He added that any eventual agreement would require approval from the relevant parties and that Trump would support only arrangements intended to strengthen Ukraine’s and Europe’s security while reducing the possibility of another conflict.
For now, the proposed territorial arrangement remains uncertain. Zelensky has indicated that Ukraine could discuss difficult compromises, but only if the terms are clearly defined and accompanied by credible international security guarantees.
The central challenge for negotiators remains finding an arrangement that addresses Russia’s territorial demands without leaving Ukraine exposed to another invasion.
