Donbas For NATO? Zelensky Says Washington Just Floated A Swap That Crosses Putin's Reddest Line

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Donbas For NATO? Zelensky Says Washington Just Floated A Swap That Crosses Putin's Reddest Line Volodymyr Zelensky says US negotiators asked for the first time whether Ukraine…

Volodymyr Zelensky says US negotiators asked for the first time whether Ukraine would pull out of Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, a trade that would hand Moscow the land it has demanded for years while putting Kyiv inside the alliance Vladimir Putin calls a red line.

The question came out of two days of US-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, which ended without a breakthrough but with a deal to swap more than 1,000 prisoners, as we reported. Final numbers for the exchange were still under discussion, according to Reuters.

Zelensky said Kyiv is not ready to give up territory, but he would put the question to a national referendum if Ukraine got a full package: security guarantees, a strong and funded army, and money to rebuild. "If the American side confirms this to us together with other NATO colleagues, then I will ask the opinion of our society," he said, per the Kyiv Post. "I have no right to make that decision on my own."

He drew one line in advance: any deal would come "without any recognition of the occupied territories as Russian." He wants guarantees modeled on NATO's Article 5 "as an absolute minimum," and said Washington told him no US soldiers would deploy to Ukrainian soil.

The opening would reverse Washington's line, since US officials had previously said Ukrainian NATO membership was off the table. It also follows a rough stretch between Kyiv and the White House, with Trump pressing Ukraine to pause strikes on Russian oil facilities while his waiver let Russian diesel exports double, and Zelensky complaining again about Starshield disruptions.

Putin has long called Ukrainian NATO membership a red line and cited it as one reason for the 2022 invasion. Zelensky made clear he expects no give from Moscow on the map either. "When Putin says something about state borders, it is certainly not about reducing Russia's territory, right?" he said. "Therefore, there is no faith in the comrade in the Kremlin."

He also dismissed…

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