Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would temporarily relinquish territory to Russia in exchange for Ukraine's accession to NATO.

As the Ukrainian-Russian conflict nears its three-year mark, Zelensky suggested a temporary ceasefire, to end the so-called "hot phase" of the war, conditioned by the approval of his country's NATO membership bid, which would extend to Ukrainian territories, omitting those in the eastern region. 

"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," Zelensky told Sky News, saying, "occupied Ukrainian territories" could be reacquired through diplomatic talks. 

He stated that NATO should "immediately" extend its coverage areas still under Kiev's control, emphasizing that Ukraine urgently needs this, "otherwise, he [Putin] will come back."  

Zelensky rushes to preserve US support

This comes as Trump seeks to end the war in Ukraine, with his aides suggesting halting military aid and cutting Ukraine off to enforce peace talks. 

Under the America First policy, Trump's envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, co-authored a contentious peace proposal earlier this year with former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz.

The plan proposes halting US weapons deliveries to Ukraine if it refuses to enter peace talks while escalating military support if Russia resists negotiations. The plan also suggests delaying or abandoning Ukraine's NATO membership as a bargaining chip to bring Moscow to the table.

The proposal acknowledges the difficulty of convincing Ukraine to accept a deal that may not restore all its territory or hold Russia accountable for the destruction. "Our concern is that this has become a war of attrition that's going to kill a whole generation of young men," Fleitz said in a recent interview.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiating a Ukraine ceasefire deal with US President-elect Donald Trump but has ruled out major territorial concessions while insisting that Kiev abandon its NATO aspirations, Reuters reported, citing five sources familiar with Kremlin discussions.

In this context, when asked about Trump, Zelensky remarked on the importance of negotiations with the President-elect to ensure Ukraine has "the strongest possible ally."

Zelensky further focused on working with Trump directly to avoid the obstruction of communications due to the "different voices from people around him [Trump]." He stressed that direct communication and cooperation with Trump was needed to ensure the exchange of ideas.