Ukraine’s Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk, is at the heart of Moscow’s goals. An industrial powerhouse in the Soviet era, it also has rich farmland, important rivers and a coastline on the Sea of Azov.

"Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants any settlement to end the war to include giving Russia full control of the Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands to cede the Donbas region, citing sovereignty concerns and the area's economic and strategic importance.

Trump appeared to endorse Russia's plan as the fastest way to a peace deal, abandoning the demand for a ceasefire and threats of sanctions agains Moscow, officials told the NYT.

Trump is projecting confidence in talks that are proving far more difficult than he has suggested publicly. President Donald Trump meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington,

As Trump pushes for peace, Ukraine accuses Russia of a deadly drone and missile strike, "as if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."