US negotiators floated Donbas withdrawal for Nato, Zelensky reveals

UPDATE - follow-up to US has floated Ukraine ceding Donbas for Nato membership, Zelensky says: US negotiators have raised the idea of Ukraine pulling its remaining forces out of the eastern Donbas region in exchange for joining Nato, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Talks and Reactions

The US has not confirmed these remarks, which followed meetings held by US President Donald Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and with Zelensky in Dublin on Thursday. Russia currently controls most of the industrial Donbas region, and Zelensky has repeatedly stated that Ukraine is unwilling to give up sovereign land. Kyiv has long sought Nato membership for protection, but the US and other members have previously been wary, while Russia firmly opposes another alliance member on its border. Kremlin comments suggest Russia's war position has not shifted, continuing to demand territorial concessions, neutrality, and limits on Ukraine's military size.

Potential Deal Terms

Zelensky stated that any specific proposal involving security guarantees, rebuilding funds, and no military limits would be put to a public referendum. Meanwhile, Russia insists it will not stop fighting until a final peace deal hands over territories it has not yet captured, alongside the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014. The recent talks in Abu Dhabi and tense exchanges between Kyiv and Washington over oil facility strikes, Starlink internet access, and calls for elections have added further strain to diplomatic efforts.

Context

This diplomatic push comes as international mediators attempt to broker an end to the full-scale conflict that began in February 2022. Territory, security guarantees, and alliances remain central sticking points in ongoing negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.