Donald Trump will allow Vladimir Putin to keep almost all of Russian-occupied Ukraine, in a bid to reach a peace deal and end the ongoing war.The US proposal, which is due to be discussed today in London, would be a direct blow to Volodymyr Zelensky, who last month said that his government would not recognise any occupied territories as Russian.The Ukrainian leader said that securing a peace deal would be made “difficult” if Ukrainian territories were not respected.
“For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian. We will not go for it,” he said in March.The White House has drawn up a seven-point peace plan, which will see the US offering Russia formal recognition of Crimea, The Telegraph reports.The region in southern Ukraine has been under Russian occupation since it was illegally annexed in 2014. Under the plans, the frontline would be frozen, which would allow Putin to keep almost all of the territory it has gained.This includes much of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, regions which have all been partially occupied since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:Putin can’t be trusted, Zelensky warns – as Russia bombards Ukraine with drones despite ‘truce’Vladimir Putin announces ‘Easter truce’ with Ukraine as Russia temporarily halts fightingDonald Trump CAVES to Putin’s demand on Ukraine – but makes breakthrough on key minerals dealHowever, the Ukrainians would get to retain some land if the agreement goes ahead. They would regain unhindered access to the mouth of the Dnieper river and Russia would have to withdraw from a second area of Kherson.US envoy General Keith Kellogg will present the plan to Ukraine today in London.His colleague Steve Witkoff would then travel to Moscow to try and get the Russians onboard.If Ukraine were to accept, then it would mean losing territory without gaining any clear US security guarantee which is absent from the seven-point plan.Trump had previously claimed that he would end the war in one day if elected back to the Oval Office, though more recently said that he was being “a little bit sarcastic” about the 24-hour timeframe.Last week, when pressed on when the US would walk away, he said: “No specific number of days, but quickly, we want to get it done.”Points one and two of the plan are understood to be focusing on an immediate ceasefire with direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, whilst point three bans Ukraine from joining Nato.Territory is the focus of point four, with America giving Putin control of Crimea. Recognising Russian control of the area would violate an international law principle that no country can annex the land of another.The final points would see the US gaining control of the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine signing a mineral deals and the lifting of all sanctions imposed by the US on Russia.The proposal will be discussed today at a meeting set in the UK capital by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
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