Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from parts of the eastern Donbass region that Russia does not control, in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO. But Ukraine’s president said his country would not cede territory. “The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joined NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?'” he told reporters on Saturday. “That’s why I believe NATO is back on the agenda.” But he said that The suggestion, which would be part of a new postwar security framework for Europe, could allow Russia to weaken NATO and reshape borders. “This is dangerous because, in my opinion, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky reiterated his position that Kyiv was not ready to cede territory but said that if he received a comprehensive package including security guarantees, the right to a strong and well-funded Ukrainian army and funds for reconstruction, he would put the issue to a “national referendum”. Echoing comments made by European leaders at a summit in Dublin on Friday, Zelensky rejected Russia’s call for broad agreement on the European security architecture before details are agreed on how to end the war in Ukraine. “We cannot turn everything upside down and start by talking about changing the security framework in the world or on the entire continent, and only then talk about ending this war. This war must end first,” he said.
The Ukrainian president also rejected the possibility of Ukraine committing to neutrality.which could only happen if the country’s constitution was amended. “If Putin hopes that Ukraine’s neutrality will be guaranteed, that won’t happen,” he said. “We are not a member of NATO at the moment anyway.”
US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Saturday that the United States was focused on facilitating direct engagement between Russia and European nations. on the war in Ukraineafter trilateral meetings involving Washington, Moscow and kyiv this week. However, Washington and NATO have yet to comment on the suggestion of exchanging Donbass for Ukraine as a NATO membership. The negotiations, however, resulted in agreements that European countries would join future talks on ending the war.
Zelenskyy accused SpaceX of not telling the truth about restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield satellite system, saying the decision to impose speed limits appears to be “political” rather than “technical”. Speaking on Friday, Ukraine’s president said restrictions on Ukrainian drones, in force for five days, meant they could no longer intercept Russian Shahed jet drones. Ukraine suspects the slowdown is a deliberate U.S. tactic, designed to pressure Zelensky into making concessions to Putin.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that countries seeking to limit aid to Ukraine wanted to impose an “unjust peace” and warned it was a recipe for another war.. “Those who want to ration aid to Ukraine basically want to impose an unjust peace on it” and, by extension, on all of Europe, Macron said on social media. “This is a recipe for another war. This cannot be France’s position.”
Russian forces hit cargo ship in Ukrainian port of Chornomorskthe RIA news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Saturday. The ministry said the ship was used to supply the Ukrainian army. Separately, Ukrainian strikes on the Samara oil pipeline station, near the village of Prosvet in Russia’s Samara region, set fire to several oil storage tanks, the Ukrainian General Staff said. The facility is a key part of Russia’s oil export network to global markets, the General Staff said. Separately, 22 people were injured in a Russian attack on the town of Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine on Friday, Ukrainian emergency services said.
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