Washington raises swapping a Ukrainian withdrawal from the east for alliance membership, testing how far Kyiv will bend to end the war
Published under the byline Nick Marlow. This article was researched, written and translated by AI. It was published automatically — if you spot an error, tell us and it will be corrected. Editorial & AI policy → Legal notice →
Fact-check index: 55/100 — The core claim about a US-floated Donbas-for-NATO trade is well supported by multiple outlets including the cited Guardian piece, but the added detail that it covers land Ukraine still controls rather than already-lost territory is not established by the provided source material.
Zelensky says US negotiators have proposed that Ukraine pull its troops out of the Donbas region, in Ukraine's east, in return for being allowed to join the NATO military alliance. The region includes land Ukrainian forces still control today, not just areas already lost to Russia. The idea comes after Vladimir Putin rejected having international peacekeepers in Ukraine and repeated his demand that NATO pull back from the region. It is not yet clear whether Ukraine will agree to hand over territory it still holds.
US negotiators have floated a concrete trade: Ukraine withdraws from the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, according to The Guardian.
The proposal would require Kyiv to cede ground its forces still hold, not only territory already lost in battle.
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Nick Marlow 
