Russia and Ukraine hold fast to their demands ahead of a planned Putin-Trump summit

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on February 21, 2020 shows US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Keep America Great rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 19, 2020. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020 commemorating the people of Leningrad during the Second World War Nazi siege on the city. – President Donald Trump on february 21, 2020 dismissed reported warnings by US intelligence that Russia is meddling in this year’s elections as a “hoax” planted by his Democratic rivals. “Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa,” Trump wrote on Twitter. (Photo by JIM WATSON and EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON,EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

ASSOCIATED PRESS:

The threats, pressure and ultimatums have come and gone, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained Moscow’s uncompromising demands in Ukraine, raising fears he could use a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to coerce Kyiv into accepting an unfavorable deal. The maximalist demands reflect Putin’s determination to reach the goals he set when he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to negotiate a broad deal that would not only cement Russia’s territorial gains but also keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit.