Russia’s illegal seizure of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 was quick and bloodless, and it sent Moscow’s relations with the West into a downward spiral unseen since the Cold War

European leaders, as well as the Nato chief, joining Zelensky for talks with Trump in Washington makes it an extraordinarily high-level meeting. This reveals how high their concern is that the US president will help Vladimir Putin defeat Ukraine by backing his demands - such as no ceasefire before final settlement.

Mr Trump previously pressed Mr Zelensky to acknowledge Russia's claim to Crimea as part of a US-brokered peace agreement to resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, Mr Zelensky has remained steadfast, asserting that Ukraine will never relinquish control of the peninsula.

A host of European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks at the White House with US President Donald Trump tomorrow. The meeting comes on the heels of Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

In occupied Crimea and Russia's Zabaykalsky Krai, the sale of A-95 petrol has been restricted to businesses and organisations who have special fuel cards. Source: independent Amsterdam-based news outlet The Moscow Times citing local media outlets Details: Residents of Crimea complain that petrol has disappeared from most filling stations,

Donald Trump has made it clear that Crimea is off the table in any peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a declaration that strikes at the very heart of the decade-long conflict.