If I'm not mistaken it's possible to add bulbs via bridge alone due to how they work.

That being said, stop buying hue bulbs. Once you have home assistant you can integrate other brands into the mix. Don't reward Phillips after they try to steal your information.

Yeah this is the problem for sure. The generic-zigbee-usb-stick approach might work today, but I'd still be wary.

This year it's "Hue Hub now requires cloud account".

Next year, we get to "Firmware updates now require Hue Hub". Annoying - and someone will probably work around it - but not realistically a long-term strategy. Better hope that the security/functionality holds up long term with whatever version you're running. With firmware supporting Matter seemingly coming out about the same time as this change, that could be a very real problem.

A bit further down the line, we arrive at "All Hue products released after \ only work with the Hue Hub". And then it's all over. What was open is now closed, and it's the end of the line for anyone who refuses to capitulate.

In theory, you're fine to keep using he things you currently own. In practice, they're almost certainly going to make that as difficult as possible for you.

Better to vote with your wallet. As a few people have suggested in various threads around the internet, the kind of bait-and-switch they've pulled might well entitle you to a full refund if your country has consumer protection laws that are worth a damn.