Russia thrilled as Donald Trump plans to 'hand Putin Crimea' in bid to force Ukraine peace deal

Kremlin-supporting Russians have given their seal of approval to 'outrageous' plans to hand over Crimea to .

The White House is reportedly planning to acknowledge the Crimean peninsula - which was illegally annexed in 2014 - as part of in a new attempt to force through a peace deal in . The proposals would also allow Russia to hold on to areas it has gained since the full-scale invasion in 2022, effectively 'freezing' the frontline and ceding around a fifth of Ukraine to . The plan was reportedly presented to Ukraine in Paris last week, and is expected to be discussed further when US, Ukrainian and European officials meet for talks tomorrow in London.

American officials are also said to have proposed eventually lifting economic sanctions against Moscow under a to-be-negotiated future accord, reports the .

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The plan to hand over Crimea to Russia has sparked delighted reactions among supporters of the Putin regime - and is already being used to fuel nationalistic fervour by the Kremlin's extensive propaganda machine.

In one clip shared by Russian supporters of the war, a man on the street is asked by a woman with a micropho: "How do you feel about the US being ready to recognise Crimea as Russian?"

The man replies: "Great - whose else is it? It was not occupation, it was Crimea's liberation."

Another reported feature of the proposals would include the United States ruling out Ukrainian membership of NATO.

Responding to a question about this part of the plan yesterday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described it as "something that brings us satisfaction" and "coincides with our position."

But he remained tight-lipped over a possible deal to keep Crimea, saying: "There are currently many such reports and many discussions. Clearly, the work of finding ways to reach a peaceful settlement cannot and should not take place in the public domain.

"It must be conducted in an absolutely discreet manner, and therefore one should be very, very cautious about such anonymous information leaks."

Ukrainian President ruled out the idea of giving away the territory when speaking to reporters today, saying: "There is nothing to discuss - this is outside our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine… this will not happen."

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas meanwhile suggested the US had not applied enough pressure on Moscow to make concessions.

She said the bloc will never recognise the peninsula as Russian, adding: "Crimea is Ukraine."

Ahead of the major talks in London on Wednesday, John Healey said today that MoD intelligence currently backed up Zelensky's claims that Russia had repeatedly violated the 'Easter truce' over the weekend with a string of aerial attacks.

He told the Commons: "Despite President Putin’s promise of a 30-hour pause in fighting, I can confirm that Defence Intelligence has found, and I quote ‘no indication that a ceasefire on the frontline was observed over the Easter period."