Volodymyr Zelensky claims that US negotiators asked a new question: would Ukraine agree to withdraw from the Donbas if it entered NATO? His statements, made in front of journalists on Friday 13 November and made public on Saturday 14 November 2026, put membership of the Alliance at the centre of discussions on the end of the war. However, they do not constitute a finalized US offer or a Ukrainian agreement.
The Ukrainian President maintains his refusal to surrender his territory. He plans to consult with Ukrainians only if Washington and its partners present a concrete set of guarantees. At this stage, he stressed, the discussions did not produce this detailed proposal.
Donbas and NATO: a question, not an agreement
The new point relates to the terms of the exchange reported by Zelensky. To date, Kyiv has sought protection based on Alliance collective defence guarantees. This time, according to the president, the Americans directly linked a possible accession to a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbas. He asserts that this question had never been asked that way before.
Distinction is essential. An exploratory question is not a commitment of the United States. Nor does it prove that the other NATO members would accept this formula or that Russia would agree to it. No separate U.S. confirmation of this specific scenario was identified in the audited items for this article.
Donbas includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. The debate therefore concerns the fate of a territory, but also that of the positions that the Ukrainian army continues to defend. Military withdrawal and legal recognition of Russian annexation are two different decisions. Zelensky excludes this recognition, even if a settlement is negotiated.
Kyiv wants to know the actual content of the warranties
The President of Ukraine described three components to be discussed together. It calls for precise security guarantees, a sufficiently equipped and funded Ukrainian army and a reconstruction plan based on identified resources. The number, weapons and duration of financial support were among the parameters he wanted to see defined.
This requirement explains its caution in the general formulae. According to his account, Washington also continues to refer to bilateral arrangements comparable to certain protections granted to its partners. Zelensky said he asked if NATO-like protection would involve the presence of American soldiers in Ukraine. The American response would have been negative.
It therefore does not present these mechanisms as interchangeable. A promise of assistance, a military presence and entry into an alliance do not engage partners in the same way. In particular, the Head of State asked how safeguards would work in practice in the face of a new attack.
A conditional popular consultation
Zelensky envisages a referendum if a complete and credible package is presented to him. He said that he wanted to open a discussion with Ukrainian society, rather than decide a decision of this scope alone. This conditional opening does not mean that he already accepts a withdrawal.
No consultation date or question formulation shall accompany his remarks. The prerequisite remains a sufficiently precise proposal, confirmed by the partners concerned. At the same time, the President insists on maintaining the Ukrainian position on the occupied territories.
Washington cannot decide on membership alone
Entry into NATO is a collective procedure. Article 10 of the founding Treaty provides for an invitation accepted unanimously by the allies. The United States played a major role in that organization, but could not assign membership to a candidate country alone.
This rule still separates the scenario referred to by Zelensky from the prospect of an actuated membership. NATO also recalls that enlargement decisions belong to the allies and the candidate country, without the veto of an external state. The diplomatic issue therefore remained open at several levels.
After Abu Dhabi, discussions remain unfinished
These statements follow the trilateral talks held on 10 and 11 November in Abu Dhabi between Ukrainian, Russian and American representatives. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner then met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, then Zelensky in Dublin. In particular, the President of Ukraine reported agreement in principle on an important exchange of prisoners and on the continuation of discussions.
Europeans are also seeking to clarify their role. On 13 November, António Costa announced a team involving EU institutions in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. He recalled that the choices concerning Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty belong to Kyiv.
The next point to be checked will be the transition from the American question reported by Zelensky to a formalised proposal. Its content, the commitments of the allies and the modalities for any Ukrainian consultation have not yet been established.
Cover photograph: Vilnius, July 2023, campaign for Ukraine in NATO. Archive of the Ukrainian Embassy in Lithuania, CC BY 4.0. Original preserved without retouch.
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