Trump to let Putin keep hold of territory seized from Ukraine under terms of a proposed peace deal

The condition is reportedly part of a 'seven-point' plan to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The plan, which will be discussed in London on Wednesday, leaves Ukraine devoid of a clear US security guarantee.

The proposal involves the US offering formal recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea.

It also implies de facto recognition of other occupied territories.

The proposal would mean freezing the existing front line - enabling Putin to keep 'almost all' the land Russia has gained, reports The Telegraph.

However, in Ukraine's favour, Russia would relinquish two small areas that it is currently occupying.

Ukraine would recover unobstructed access to the mouth of the Dnieper River.

Meanwhile, Russia would withdraw from a second area of Kherson province.

US envoy, General Keith Kellogg, intends to gain Ukraine's agreement to the proposal on Wednesday.

Fellow US envoy Steve Witkoff would then present the proposal to Putin in Moscow.

The news comes after the Kremlin said Russia is ready to consider a proposal from Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a halt to attacks by both sides on each other's civilian infrastructure.

Both sides are under pressure to demonstrate progress towards ending the war in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump threatened last week to abandon attempts to get them to reach a deal.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was a complex topic that Putin was ready to discuss.

However, there are no concrete plans at the moment for talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Read more: Putin bombards Ukraine minutes after 'Easter truce' ends - as Trump says he hopes for peace deal 'this week'

Read more: Russian assault continues as Zelenskyy accuses Putin of hitting Ukraine 446 times since 'Easter truce' began

Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine was ready for any form of discussion to bring about an end to attacks on civilian facilities.

"Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow," he said.

"We are ready for any conversation about how to achieve this."

Asked for the Kremlin's response, Peskov said the topic needed to be discussed taking into account the experience of the 30-hour Easter ceasefire that Putin declared at the weekend.

He did not specify the connection between the two issues.

Each side accused the other of breaking the Easter truce countless times and of repeatedly violating a moratorium brokered by the US last month on attacking energy targets such as power grids and oil refineries.

"Actually, the president explained the complexity of this topic just yesterday, answering journalists' questions.

"That is, if we talk about civilian infrastructure facilities, we need to clearly differentiate in what situations these facilities can be a military target, and in what situations they cannot," Peskov said.

He quoted Putin as saying that a civilian facility could become a military target if enemy combatants were meeting there.

"Therefore there are nuances here that it makes sense to discuss," he said.

US and European allies will join their UK and Ukraine counterparts in London for the latest peace talks on the war-torn nation’s conflict with Russia.

Wednesday’s gathering comes as Donald Trump’s administration continues to drive efforts to find peace between Russia and Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has suggested he is hopeful the warring parties “will make a deal this week”.

But Kyiv could be forced to swallow a bitter pill under terms being ironed out between the US and Russia, according to the Financial Times (FT).

Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine across its current front lines, the newspaper reported.

Among the ideas floated by the US for the settlement are Moscow’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions, and US recognition that Russia owns the Crimean peninsula, the FT said.

Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will represent the US at the talks in London.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio is unable to attend due to a scheduling issue, while Steve Witkoff – a Trump envoy who has been deeply involved in negotiations – is set to return to Moscow this week.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a post on X that he had shared a “productive call” with Mr Rubio ahead of what he called a “critical moment for Ukraine, Britain and Euro-Atlantic security”.

He said: “The UK is working with the US, Ukraine and Europe to put an end to Putin’s illegal invasion. Talks continue at pace and officials will meet in London tomorrow.”Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that allies will discuss “next steps” during the talks, “including what a ceasefire might look like and how to secure peace in the long-term”.

He also slapped down Mr Putin’s claims that Russia had observed a promised Easter truce, telling MPs that British military intelligence had found no indication of a pause in fighting.“

While Putin has said he declared an Easter truce, he broke it; while Putin says he wants peace, he has rejected a full ceasefire; and while Putin says he wants to put an end to the fighting, he continues to play for time in the negotiations,” Mr Healey said.

The Russian military has continued “to pressure Ukraine on a number of fronts”, Mr Healey also said.

But he added: “I can confirm Russian military progress is slowing. Putin gained less territory in March than he did in February, less territory in February than he did in January.”

On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon, visited a military base in south west England to see the work done by allied nations to train Ukrainian troops.

The New Zealand premier’s visit was also a chance for the two countries to renew their defence ties.

Sir Keir last spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to lay out the latest plans for the “coalition of the willing”, a peacekeeping force aimed at policing a future settlement.