Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted there would likely need to be some mutual concession of land from Ukraine to Russia in order for a peace agreement to be reached, however Ukrainians find it hard to support such a notion.

In a shift, Trump now aligns more closely with Putin than allies in Europe in calling for final talks before a ceasefire

The traditionally Russian-speaking area is at the heart of what the Russian president calls the “root causes” of the war, and taking it over is near the top of his list of territorial and political demands.