Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would put a possible withdrawal from eastern Donbas to a referendum only if the United States and other partners confirmed a comprehensive security and recovery package.
Zelenskyy said U.S. negotiators asked whether Ukraine would leave parts of eastern Donbas still under Kyiv’s control if the country joined NATO. He said Russian forces do not control the areas in question. He rejected giving up territory and said a settlement would not recognize occupied Ukrainian land as Russian. Zelenskyy said the question was raised after recent peace talks in Abu Dhabi and Ireland, and that negotiators had not previously linked NATO membership with territorial withdrawal.
The account updates EconoTimes’ earlier report on the U.S. question linking Donbas and NATO with the conditions he set for a referendum. He said the package would need to include security guarantees, military and reconstruction funding, and a recovery plan. He also ruled out neutrality, saying it would require a constitutional amendment.
In an Oct. 21 Fox News interview, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could start peace talks with a ceasefire along the existing front line while refusing to give up Donbas, as EconoTimes reported at the time.
Separately, EU leaders agreed that a European group for peace talks would include Poland, Italy, Germany, France and Britain, alongside EU officials. The proposed team would meet U.S. and Ukrainian officials; Russia would not take part.
