The United States has floated the idea of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining forces from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for Nato membership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, the BBC reported.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins Nato? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Mr Zelensky told reporters.
He said that if he received a proposal containing security guarantees, no constraints on Ukraine’s military and funds to rebuild the country, he would put it to a referendum.
Talks in Moscow and Dublin
The comments follow a visit by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Dublin on Thursday to meet Mr Zelensky on the sidelines of an EU summit, a day after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
US officials had previously said Ukrainian Nato membership was off the table. Mr Zelensky said the new idea made him believe that “Nato is back on the agenda”, but cautioned: “You have also heard Putin’s signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation.”
Wide gap remains
Kyiv has long sought Nato membership as a guarantee against future attack, while Moscow says another Nato member on its border is unacceptable. Comments by Mr Putin and Kremlin officials suggest Russia’s demands for territory and neutrality remain far beyond what Ukraine is prepared to consider.
Russia occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including most of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas. Giving up the small part Ukraine still controls there would be a limited concession in practical terms, but symbolically significant, as it would amount to accepting the Donbas as Russian.
Why it matters for Ghana
The war has driven up global prices of fuel, wheat and fertiliser since 2022, feeding into costs for Ghanaian households and businesses. Any credible path to peace could ease pressure on those import prices.
Source: BBC.
Featured image: President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference at the European Commission in 2025. Photo: Dati Bendo / European Union, 2025 / EC – Audiovisual Service, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).