Zelenskyy rejects US proposal to trade Donbas for NATO membership

US negotiators proposed Ukraine cede parts of eastern Donbas to Russia in exchange for NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, marking the first time such a territorial concession was linked to alliance entry. Zelenskyy rejected the proposal, refusing to cede territory and dismissing Ukrainian neutrality, which he said would require constitutional changes. He noted the areas in question are not under Russian control and warned that altering borders could escalate conflict. Zelenskyy said he would put the concession question to a national referendum if Ukraine received a comprehensive package of security guarantees, military aid, and reconstruction funds, though he stressed no arrangement would recognize occupied territories as Russian.