US asked Ukraine to trade Donbas for NATO membership, Zelenskyy says

Washington's negotiators asked Ukraine whether it would pull its troops out of Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in remarks embargoed until Saturday, adding that the question had been raised for the first time — including during this week's Abu Dhabi talks.

The Ukrainian president said no concrete offer existed. He maintained that Kyiv would not withdraw its troops, but could put the issue to a referendum if it received firm security guarantees, funding for its armed forces and money for reconstruction.

Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk, two eastern Ukrainian regions partly occupied by Russia. Moscow demands a Ukrainian withdrawal from areas Kyiv still controls, while also opposing Ukraine joining NATO, whose members pledge to defend one another.

Zelenskyy said on Friday that he would not amend Ukraine's constitution to make it neutral, arguing the move would not guarantee lasting security.

The disclosure came as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators resumed US-mediated direct talks this week. Apart from renewed prisoner exchanges, there appears to have been little progress; European representatives are set to take part in the next round.

Zelenskyy described the European Union and NATO as Europe's "only real security" and called Moscow's bid to review the continent's security dangerous.

A Ukrainian drone attack killed a mother, father and their 24-month-old daughter at their home in Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, Russian authorities said. The strike on Saturday hit Proletarsky, about 20km (12 miles) from the border.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said the army intercepted 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several over the Moscow region. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 96 drones from Friday evening, of which 81 were shot down or electronically suppressed as of early Saturday, with hits reported at eight locations and debris damage at two others. A local power supplier reported outages in parts of northeastern Sumy.