Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner (L) and Steve Witkoff (R) at a military airport outside Dublin, Ireland, November 12, 2026
Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Starshield Restrictions Continue on Frontline
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are proposing Kyiv’s surrender of territory to Russia, in return for Ukrainian membership of NATO.
Zelensky told journalists, “The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised.”
He ruled out giving away more territory to Russian “terrorists”. Details of the proposal were vague, but did not appear to involve US peacekeeping troops on the ground.
The President said that, at the same time, his government is discussing “specific security guarantees from NATO and the EU”. If Western countries confirm them, “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.”
He said the Russian effort to seize the agenda with the priority of “Europe-wide security architecture”, relegating issues such as a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine, “concerning”. The Kremlin’s proposal demands that NATO withdraw all forces and leave all positions from countries which joined the bloc after 1997.
“Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact,” Zelensky said. “We cannot turn everything upside down….This is dangerous because, in my view, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations.”
Talks should return to the priority of a ceasefire on current frontlines and Ukraine’s security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the President summarized.
We cannot turn everything upside down and start by talking about changing the security framework in the world or across the continent overall, and only then talk about ending this war. This war must be ended first.
Zelensky Calls Out Putin Ploy Over Eastern Ukraine
Zelensky also dismissed Vladimir Putin’s presentation to Witkoff and Kushner of a “humanitarian mission” in Kostiantynivka, the town in eastern Ukraine which Russia has tried to overrun for months, as a ploy. Putin had suggested a five-day ceasefire, similar to the local truce and evacuation of civilians last month in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine.
“It’s an absolutely primitive move. Putin simply wants us to leave Kostiantynivka so that they can move in and occupy the entire city that way,” Zelensky said. He noted that civilians have already fled the area as fierce street-by-street fighting continues with large Russian losses.
Zelensky has proposed the Oleshky model in nearby Russian-occupied villages and towns along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, along the Dnipro River. Putin rejected the offer.
