U.S. suggested Kyiv cede land to Russia in exchange for joining NATO, says Zelenskyy

Kyiv Washington has suggested Ukraine cede land to Russia in exchange for joining NATO, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released on Saturday (November 14, 2026), adding that it indicated his country’s ties with the Western military alliance are “back on the agenda”. Mr. Zelenskyy also warned the Kremlin was “betting everything” on this winter’s military campaign. Moscow has pounded Ukraine in the run-up to the colder months, with Russian President Vladimir Putin showing no sign of backing down.

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met both Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy separately on Thursday after two days of talks with their delegations in Abu Dhabi, which ended with no breakthrough.

“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. Zelenskyy said. “After providing Ukraine with this kind of defence support, seeing this kind of development of our army and this strength in our defence, they cannot simply let Ukraine go,” he added.