Putin 'demands key regions of Ukraine in exchange for peace'

Vladimir Putin made demands to take control of key regions of Ukraine during his talks with Donald Trump, it has been widely reported, as a condition for ending the war.

During their summit in Alaska, the Russian leader is said to have told the US president he wants the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions - and would give up other Ukrainian territories held by his troops in exchange. The plans were reported by several news outlets, citing sources close to the matter, as Mr Trump scheduled a further meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington DC for Monday.

He has said this could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin. Mr Trump reportedly backs the plans, according to some outlets - but Mr Zelenskyy has previously ruled out formally handing any territory to Moscow.

Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014. US-Russia talks on Ukraine - latest updates Details of the plans emerged after little was revealed during the high-profile summit between the US and Russian leaders on Friday.

Despite threats by the US president beforehand, of sanctions for Russia should there be no agreement on a ceasefire, a short news briefing after the talks ended with no mention of a suspension of fighting, no announced agreement on how to end the war, and little clarity about the next steps. On Saturday, Mr Trump appeared to change his stance on what he hopes to achieve in Ukraine, indicating he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire.

"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," he said in a post on his social network site, Truth Social. Trump: 'Russia is a big power - they're not' In an interview with Fox News following the summit, Mr Trump signalled he and Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had "largely agreed".

He said Ukraine has to made a deal, as "Russia is a very big power, and they're not". Monday's meeting at the White House will be the Ukrainian president's second this year.

His last descended into a fiery spat with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance, which saw him leave early. After the fresh meeting was announced, Mr Zelenskyy in a post on X that he was grateful for the invitation.

Read more:Key takeaways from Sky correspondentsBody language expert unpacks the summit "It is important that everyone agrees there needs to be a conversation at the level of leaders to clarify all the details and determine which steps are necessary and will work," he said. However, he said Russia had rebuffed "numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing.