The United States raised the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for withdrawing its forces from the eastern Donbas region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The proposal emerged during trilateral discussions involving Ukrainian, Russian, and U.S. representatives in Abu Dhabi, followed by separate meetings in Moscow and Dublin with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Speaking to reporters on November 13, Zelenskyy said American negotiators asked for the first time whether Kyiv would be willing to give up control of the region.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’” Zelenskyy said, according to RTÉ.
The Donbas serves as Ukraine’s historical industrial heartland and has been a central battleground since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Zelenskyy stressed that any potential arrangement would not involve recognizing occupied territories as Russian. He said that if Western partners provide a comprehensive security package, he would consult the public rather than decide alone.
“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?” Zelenskyy said, as reported by CBC, adding, “I have no right to make that decision on my own.”
Ukrainian officials are discussing specific security guarantees from NATO and the European Union, alongside weapons, military funding, and postwar reconstruction support. Zelenskyy emphasized that real security on the continent relies strictly on those institutions, warning that broader discussions about redrawing Europe’s security architecture could allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to weaken NATO.
“Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact. I am sure this is part of his concept of revising security guarantees in Europe,” Zelenskyy said, according to Newsweek.
While the talks in Abu Dhabi yielded no breakthrough on ending the war, the parties agreed to prepare for a large-scale prisoner exchange, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, the European Commission is preparing its 22nd package of sanctions against Russia ahead of a November 26–27 European Council summit.
The trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi were the first three-sided negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States in nine months, with U.S. officials stating they sought a final end to the conflict.
During these sessions, Ukrainian representatives said that Moscow claimed to occupy half of the eastern Donbas, prompting Zelenskyy to remark that Putin lives in a different reality. The Ukrainian leader also said that the American side confirmed the Ukrainian assessment of battlefield events.
Following the diplomatic engagements in the Middle East, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before flying to Dublin, Ireland.
In Dublin, the envoys met with Zelenskyy at a military airport on November 12, 2026, where they discussed security arrangements and affirmed that Europe would have a seat at the negotiating table during forthcoming peace talks. Kushner later emphasized to reporters that peace deals cannot be concluded without European participation.
Zelenskyy also raised concerns regarding frontline operations, criticizing speed restrictions imposed on SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield satellite terminals in Russian-occupied regions. He said that terminals had been limited to 161 kilometers per hour for several days, undermining Ukrainian military capabilities. The Ukrainian defense ministry raised the issue with SpaceX at an institutional level while investigations into the technical limitations continued.