In a move that could reshape the course of the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has backed a proposal for Kyiv to give up the Donbas region t.

Marco Rubio clarifies that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will decide on territorial issues in peace talks, not Trump, following reports concerning Donbas control.

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.

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.

Why is Russia so desperate to capture Ukraine’s Donbas region? - Giving up the region will have ‘catastrophic consequences’, say experts

President Trump has often said that Ukraine is the apple of Vladimir Putin’s eye. But the most prized territory for the Russian president is the part of eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas. Russian fo

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

Steve Witfkoff said Russia agreed in Alaska that the US and Europe could provide Ukraine with a Nato-style guarantee.