Washington-brokered negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine have largely boiled down to a diamond-shaped peninsula about the size of Massachusetts.

Amid reports that a U.S. peace proposal might include recognizing Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea, President Donald Trump denied Ukraine was being pressured to accept the move — while also asserting Ukraine had given up the peninsula in 2014 "without firing a shot.

The Russian Federation demands to recognize Crimea as part of its territory in order to disrupt negotiations on ending the full-scale war, said Borys Babin, an expert from the “Reintegration of Crimea” Association in the material by RBC-Ukraine "Trump changing the game: Why Crimea suddenly came up in peace talks".

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Saturday that nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during World War Two victory celebrations on May 9.

A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, wounded 47 people, local officials said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said drones hit 12 locations in the city late Friday. Residential buildings,

What’s emerged from the Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine suggests a deal that seems likely to be favorable to Russia.

U.S. officials have finalized new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end its war on Ukraine,