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, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

What started as a secret military operation has exploded into a full-scale war, with the Kremlin currently occupying roughly 17,980 square miles

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, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

At a recent meeting with his US counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again suggested that full control of Donbas was a central criterion for ending the war in Ukraine. Why is the region so important to him?

Vladimir Putin has reportedly outlined his demands for bringing Russia's war with Ukraine to an end. The Russian leader is said to have named three points that he wants met to pull the plug on the conflict, which has so far killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The Donbas, made up primarily of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, has been the site of sporadic fighting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 ...

NATO allies and Ukraine are working together to make sure security guarantees for Ukraine are at such a robust level that Russia will never try to attack again, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Friday, adding that Europe and the United States would be involved in providing them.