Zelensky Says U.S. Proposed NATO Membership in Exchange for Ukraine Giving Up Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a U.S. envoy asked whether Ukraine would cede the eastern Donbas region to Russia in exchange for a chance to join NATO. According to Sina Finance, Zelensky said the U.S. proposal included concrete security guarantees from NATO and the European Union, a strong Ukrainian military with sufficient personnel, weapons and financial support for a specified period, and a reconstruction plan with secured funding. He said he would ask Ukrainians whether they accepted the proposal if the United States and other NATO partners confirmed those terms, adding that he could not make the decision alone.