The Kremlin insists on full control over the entire territory of four Ukrainian regions – Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that under any peace agreement, Moscow must retain control over the entire territories of four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources.

According to the sources, during negotiations at the Kremlin last Friday, U.S. special envoy Stephen Witkoff, representing President Donald Trump, attempted to persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire along the current front line. However, the Russian president refused.

“This demand (to hand over the four regions to Russia) deals a blow to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts… The Russian leader has maintained his maximalist stance on territorial claims,” the agency commented.

One of the sources indicated that negotiations have now stalled, and direct contact between Putin and Trump will be necessary to make further progress in the peace process.

It is worth noting that earlier, Financial Times also reported, citing sources, that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire along the front line back in early April and had, in general, accepted Trump’s peace plan, which had been presented to European and Ukrainian representatives in Paris.