Donald Trump has said he will attempt to get some territory back for Ukraine as he prepares to meet his Russian counterpart to discuss ending the war this week.
Ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, the US President said there will be “some swapping, some changes to land”.
He has previously signalled that he thinks Ukraine might need to cede some territory to end the conflict.
Reports have suggested this could involve giving up the Donetsk region to Russia, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected as it would compromise his country’s territorial integrity.
During a press conference on Monday, Trump told reporters: “Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine.
“We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
He added that the war will be “solved” once Zelensky and Putin are “in a room” together, suggesting a potential future three-way session including himself and the two other leaders.
"I'm here for one reason, to get rid of a war that somebody else started," he said.
“I’m going to put the two of them in a room - I’ll be there or I won’t be there - and I think it will get solved.”
Trump said he will update European leaders if Putin proposes a "fair deal" during the talks, adding that he would speak to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky first "out of respect".
“I'll call him first... I'll call him after, and I may say, 'lots of luck, keep fighting,' or I may say, 'we can make a deal'", he said.
While Trump also said that while he and Zelensky "get along", he "very severely disagrees with what [the Ukrainian president] has done".
Trump has previously blamed Zelensky for the war in Ukraine, which was sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
Downing Street has backed Trump's interventions over the Ukraine war but warned Putin cannot be trusted "as far as you can throw him".
Kyiv has expressed concerns about the prospect of being excluded from peace talks this week to discuss the future of the Kremlin's invasion.
The Kremlin has played down expectations of a meeting with Zelensky, with Putin recently stating the conditions to meet the Ukrainian president were still far off.
Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer believes the Russian President could be trusted in negotiations, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said the UK supported both Kyiv and the US President's push for peace, but not Moscow.
"Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine," he said on Monday.
"We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.
"But it is exactly why we've been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.
"So, we're not going to leave it to trust. We're going to ensure that we're prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire."
Planning for the so-called coalition of the willing, which would involve a European-led peacekeeping force sent to Ukraine to monitor any future truce, began in March.
Number 10 said "operational planning continues at a military level" but no talks between leaders are planned for this week.
Asked whether work relating to the coalition had been put on hold to keep the road clear for Washington-led mediation on Friday, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "No... if anything, the next step really is reaching that ceasefire, such that we're then able to to implement the security guarantees."
It comes after European leaders including Sir Keir said the path to peace for Kyiv "cannot be decided without Ukraine" and the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine could only be a "starting point of negotiations".
In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said: "Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.
"We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force."
