Putin wants Trump to formally recognise all land Russia has taken in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly wants U.S. President Donald Trump to formally acknowledge Russia's claim over four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — in addition to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. This information was reported by Russia's Kommersant daily, citing anonymous sources who attended a private business event with Putin on Tuesday.

According to the report, Putin's request for U.S. recognition of these regions would come with a promise not to seek control over the Ukrainian port city of Odesa or other parts of Ukraine, but only if the recognition happened "in the near future."

Despite Russia's military advances, it does not have complete control over any of the four regions it seeks recognition for.

When asked about the Kommersant report on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin and Trump had not discussed the matter during their call on Tuesday. However, he did confirm that Putin spoke about the Ukraine conflict during his closed-door meeting with members of Russia's business community.

Peskov declined to comment on whether Putin had proposed the idea of U.S. recognition of the four regions alongside Crimea during the meeting.