#TheTelegraph: "Ukraine prepared to cede territory held by Russia"

Ukraine could agree to stop fighting and cede territory already held by Russia as part of a European-backed plan for peace.

Volodymyr Zelensky told European leaders that they must reject any settlement proposed by Donald Trump in which Ukraine gives up further territory – but that Russia could be allowed to retain some of the land it has taken.

This would mean freezing the front line where it is and handing Russia de facto control of the territory it occupies in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea.

The softening of the negotiating position comes ahead of talks between Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

“The plan can only be related to the current positions held by the militaries,” a Western official said, characterising a frantic weekend of diplomacy between Kyiv and its allies.

Ukraine and Europe have become increasingly concerned that Mr Trump and Putin could negotiate an end to the long-running war over Mr Zelensky’s head.

“I have many fears and a lot of hope,” Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said on Monday. He added that US officials had pledged to consult European leaders ahead of the face-to-face talks between Mr Trump and Putin.

European diplomats say there has been no notable change in Putin’s overall war aims, which seek to topple Ukraine’s Western-facing government and replace it with a Moscow-friendly proxy.