By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country,

However, since the fullscale invasion in 2022, 1.6million youngsters have been cut off from the outside world and are effectively being held hostage by Russia. Abducted children were sent to at least 56 facilities - 13 in Belarus and 43 in Russia or occupied Ukrainian territory.

Moscow continues to throw cold water on the prospect of Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, and is insisting Russia have a role in security guarantees for Ukraine.

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine has long been contested by Russia, with military aggression forcing 1.5 million Ukrainians to flee over the past decade. Ukraine has consistently rejected conceding Donbas to the Kremlin in exchange for peace, though Trump stressed the need for "swapping of territories".

Russia's top military and political officials joined Putin in the closed city of Sarov, which houses the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, on Aug. 22.

Putin seeks "a multilateral system of commitments that includes not only the West but also Russia itself," one expert told Newsweek.