US Floats NATO Membership for Ukraine in Exchange for Donbas Withdrawal

US officials have proposed a potential deal under which Ukraine could join NATO if it agrees to cede its remaining territory in the Donbas region to Russia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zelensky said the idea was raised by the American side for the first time. "The Americans raised the question: 'What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?'" he said, in comments released Saturday.

Russia currently controls about 80% of the Donetsk province and nearly all of Luhansk, the two mineral-rich eastern provinces that make up the Donbas, according to November 11 estimates by the US-based Institute for the Study of War. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long demanded that Ukraine pull out of the entire Donbas region as a condition for a ceasefire.

Zelensky indicated that he would submit any proposed deal to the Ukrainian people for approval, but only if Washington and its NATO allies provide a comprehensive security package that includes weapons, postwar recovery assistance, and funding. "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? I have no right to make that decision on my own," he stated. He added that specifics are still lacking and discussions are ongoing.

The Ukrainian leader stressed that any agreement would come "without any recognition of the occupied territories as Russian," according to the Kyiv Independent. He has consistently maintained that he could only accept freezing the war along the current front line, which would leave Ukraine with about 20% of Donetsk.

Meanwhile, the US, Ukraine, and Russia have agreed to include as many as five European representatives directly in peace negotiations following trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi this week. European leaders have expressed concern that US-brokered negotiations could leave Kyiv vulnerable to Putin's demands, while Ukraine has sought stronger backing from its allies on the continent.