Putin doubles down on demands for Ukrainian territory ahead of talks with US

The Russian president accuses Kyiv of wanting to fight "to the last Ukrainian" - which he says Russia is also "in principle" ready to do.

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Putin has long pushed for legal recognition of the Ukrainian territories Russia has seized by force. They include the southern Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014, and the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow now occupies for the most part.

For Kyiv, which has ruled out relinquishing the parts of the Donbas it still holds, rewarding Russia for its aggression is a non-starter.

Speaking after Putin's address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia "scorned" efforts "to truly end the war".

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Kyrgyzstan, Putin accused Kyiv of wanting to fight "to the last Ukrainian" - which he said Russia was "in principle" also ready to do.