Russian invasion Negotiations

Putin's demands: Ukraine must give up Donbas

Russia has the upper hand on the battlefield and will not lay down its arms if Ukraine does not make the concessions it demands, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. He is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

- If they do not withdraw, we will take Donbas with the help of our weapons, Putin said.

Putin commented for the first time on the peace plan drawn up by the United States. He admitted that Russia had given some views and said that the plan was based on talks held before the summit in Alaska in August.

However, the Russian president does not call it a peace plan but a "basis for future discussions".

This weekend, US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Moscow. He is expected to meet Putin early next week.

Sources: US to recognise Crimea and Donbas as Russian

The US will soon announce that it recognises the Crimean peninsula and other Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine as Russian territory, The Telegraph has learned.

According to the newspaper's sources, Donald Trump has tasked envoy Steve Witkoff with delivering the message when he meets Vladimir Putin in the coming days. The plan is to get the Russian president to agree to a peace deal.

Both Ukraine and its allies in Europe have opposed plans to give Russia control over occupied areas.

- It is increasingly clear that the Americans do not care about Europe's opinion. They say that Europeans can think whatever they want, says one of the newspaper's sources.

Expert: US is on Russia's side – Trump only cares about business

If Donald Trump recognizes occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian, it would be a big step towards a very uncertain world where great powers do whatever they want. Jakob Hedenskog, Eastern Europe analyst at the Swedish Institute for Foreign Policy, tells GP.

Hedenskog would not be surprised if it happens – Trump's only goal is business deals with Russia, and the war is a distraction that stands in the way, he says.

It would also be further proof that Trump ultimately always follows Russia's line, adds Hedenskog.

– We can no longer consider the US as an impartial mediator in this. The US is on Russia's side.