The United States has proposed Ukraine cede the eastern Donbas region to Russia in exchange for Nato membership, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Russian controlled territory has been annexed since Vladimir Putin invaded in 2014.

Russia currently occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including most of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that compose the Donbas in the east of the country.

US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday and were mediated by the US.

The talks ended without a major breakthrough, though the sides agreed to a prisoner exchange that will involve more than 1,000 people, Zelensky said.

Specifics needed for a public consultation

This is the first time the question of linking Nato membership to territorial concessions has been raised during the talks, Zelensky said in remarks to reporters on Saturday.

He added: “The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins Nato? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised.”

Despite previous opposition to any suggestion of giving up the region, he did confirm that if they received a “comprehensive security package” that includes a strong Ukrainian army and guarantees from Nato, he would allow the Ukrainian public to decide in a referendum.

He added: “If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other Nato partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not? I have no right to make that decision on my own. But we need specifics, and we don’t have them yet.”

Nato membership ‘back on the table’

US officials had previously indicated Nato membership was off the table, but Zelensky warned: “You have also heard Putin’s signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation.”

Nato membership has long been a goal for Ukraine.

In 2008 Nato leaders agreed that Ukraine would eventually become a member of the alliance, but did not offer a plan or timeline.

In 2019, Ukraine added its strategic goal of full membership of Nato and the European Union into its constitution, and formally applied to join the alliance in September 2022 after Russia’s invasion.

In 2024 Nato described Ukraine’s path to membership as “irreversible” but did not extend an invitation until Allies “agree and conditions are met”.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland joined Nato.

Russia’s demands

Russia has not commented on the suggestion so far, although Putin has long said Ukrainian membership of Nato is a red line ​for ⁠Moscow.

The country has previously demanded that any peace deal involve limitations to Ukraine’s military power, territorial concessions and neutrality.

These have been refused by Ukraine as violating their ability to defend themselves in the event of another invasion. On Saturday Zelensky again rejected the possibility of his country committing to neutrality.

The conditions also include Britain, which has committed its submarine-based nuclear deterrent to the wider defence of Nato, stopping its use of nuclear weapons to protect its European allies.

According to , Russia also wants to end “the supply of any type of Western weapons and military equipment and products to Ukraine”.

Putin also agreed to European officials joining the talks on the condition that they discuss the continent’s current security situation.

But Prime Minister Andy Burham said: “There was a very strong feeling that Russian demands to put the question of European security architecture or European security arrangements into this negotiation.

“Well, no, that’s not up for negotiation. It’s for Europe to decide its own arrangements, Europe and Europe alone.”

US envoy Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s sone-in-law, said of the discussions: “Several new ideas emerged from these discussions and are now being explored”

Kushner added on Twitter: “As President @realDonaldTrump has made clear, A lasting peace requires credible security guarantees for Ukraine and detailed, actionable postwar security arrangements that reduce the risk of another war.”

he added: “The press has reported some of the maximalist positions proposed by both sides, along with strong political rhetoric.

“In our private discussions, both sides understand that practical compromises will be necessary to end this war. Serious and constructive work continues among those of us committed to finding solutions.

Trump’s relationship with Zelensky has been increasingly strained in recent weeks, after the American president struck a deal with Russia to provide diesel to help lower domestic fuel prices. He also waived key sanctions and tariffs against the country.

Trump then opposed Ukraine targeting Russia’s oil refineries, saying they are “seriously hurting the world”. The 80-year-old also accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war with Russia.

Zelensky warned the move ⁠would embolden Putin and prolong the war.

Trump also announced on 11 October that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in the almost five-year-old war, but offered no details. Kyiv reported Russian attacks on energy sites continued after Trump’s announcement.

This was exacerbated by Elon Musk’s Starlink and Starshield communication systems, which Ukraine relies upon to intercept Russian jet-powered drones, being slowed down in the region.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian President again criticised SpaceX, saying speed restrictions on its military-grade Starshield satellite terminals had dangerous political implications and undermined critical air defences.

It is the second such outage ‌in recent weeks. In mid-October, ⁠Ukrainian officials said that SpaceX limited the speed of ⁠Starlink and its Starshield communication systems to about 160 kph (100 mph) amid tensions with Trump’s administration over Ukrainian ‌attacks on Russian oil refineries. ​Service was restored on October 24.

Zelensky said Starshield terminals operating in ⁠temporarily Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine had been limited to a maximum speed of 161 kph for the past five days, hampering Ukraine’s military capabilities.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry has raised the issue with SpaceX ⁠at an institutional level, Zelensky ​said.

“The ⁠restrictions have now been in place for five days. They say it is some kind of ⁠technical issue. We do not believe that is the case,” ​Zelenskiy ⁠told reporters in remarks ‌released by his office on Saturday.

“If you impose restrictions there, you are already partially recognising the temporarily occupied territories as ‌not ours. And that is why I ‌believe we have the right to raise this issue and restore the speed – so that there are no restrictions at all.”

SpaceX has pushed back against the allegations, denying that it ‌introduced new restrictions or made any changes ​to its satellite operations.