US floats NATO membership for Ukraine in exchange for Donbas withdrawal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States raised the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for withdrawing from the Donbas region, marking the first time such a question was posed. Zelensky made the remarks after meetings in Denmark and Ireland, following two days of US-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi. The negotiations, the first since February, produced no decisive breakthrough but all parties agreed Europeans should be included in future discussions. Zelensky insisted Ukraine will not cede territory or accept neutrality, and rejected Putin's proposal for a humanitarian truce in Kostyantynivka as a ploy to advance Russian troops. He warned Moscow is betting on its winter military campaign as the war approaches its fifth anniversary.