PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky scoffed at the idea of recognising Ukraine's Crimea region as Russian territory as part of a peace deal.
The US has offered to concede to Russian ownership of the region in a reported , in exchange for Putin freezing the frontline.



But vowed would not, under any circumstances, hand over the land, which Russia invaded in 2014.
He said: “There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution.
“This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine.”
This position pits Ukraine directly at odds with the US, in light of the terms of the new peace proposal.
The seven-point plan drawn up by the US would, according TheTelegraph, allow Russia tokeep some of the .
The proposal is expected to be discussed in today to gauge ‘s further reaction.
However, a glaring omission from the plan is the lack of any clear US security guarantees.
Trump reportedly included Crimea in the package after Putin hinted he was willing to stop and give up his official claims to four parts of Ukraine he partly occupies.
Putin suggested freezing the frontline to Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, during their third meeting which happened earlier this month, three source told the Financial Times.
The US then floated the idea of a settlement that would see recognise Russian ownership of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
The offer was reportedly sweetened with the suggestion the US could acknowledge Russia's effective control of the four part-occupied regions.
Putin's proposal to halt advances would mark the first time he has given credible signs he is willing to soften his radical demands.
But European officials briefed on the US-driven peace effortshave warned that Putin is not to be trusted.
They said he to manipulate Trump into accepting‘s other demands.


One official told the FT: “There is a lot of pressure on Kyiv right now to give up on things so Trump can claim victory.”
Zelensky echoed that warning.
He said that discussions to include Crimea in any peace offer risk placing negotiations into the hands of the .
By putting Crimea on the table, he insisted the US would be playing into Putin's “game”.
Zelensky said: “As soon as talks about Crimea and our sovereign territories begin, the talks enter the format that Russia wants â prolonging the war â because it will not be possible to agree on everything quickly.
“We know where these signals are sounding and will continue to sound.”
He said he did not know whether the inclusion of Crimea originated from Russia or US representatives.


Zelensky's rebuttal comes as officials from the UK, the US and the EU prepare to meet in London today to push forward the peace process.
UK Defence Secretary said the meeting will pick up where talks left off in Paris last week, with a focus on what the terms of a long-term ceasefire deal might look like.
The reported seven-point plan drawn up by the US is likely to be high on the agenda.
Initially, the meeting was supposed to involve foreign ministers, but that plan was scrapped when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the last minute he could not attend.
The States will be represented by General Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the conflict was too “complex” to achieve a speedy ceasefire.
He told state TV: “It is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement, a viable settlement, in a short time frame.”
And White House spokeswoman confirmed Witkoff would be travelling to again, marking his fourth trip since Trump took office.
She said: “The negotiations continue. We're hopefully moving in the right direction.”