The idea was first reported by The Economist, which described it as a "cartographic trick." A TCSN source in the Ukrainian delegation had denied as recently as the day before that the Americans had proposed changing the regions' borders at all.
"The Ukrainian delegation has never discussed any concessions on any territories that Russia occupies. Ukraine will never recognize this — neither de facto nor de jure," the source told The Telegraph.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the first day of talks that Russian military officers and intelligence officials seriously claim to have already occupied half of the Donbas, which in fact remains under Ukraine's control. "Putin lives in a different reality," he said.
The second day of negotiations began at noon local time (11 a.m. Moscow time). According to Politico, territories will be the main topic of the day; US officials say in private conversations that both sides have shown "at least some willingness to be flexible." Zelensky expected the delegations to discuss the possibility of a leaders' meeting but is not sure Russia is ready for one. A prisoner exchange was discussed on the first day, with no final agreement reached. After the meeting ends, the Russian delegation will make a statement to the press, TASS reported, citing a source.