The United States will propose recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, freezing the front line, and lifting sanctions against Russia

On April 23rd, according to the Washington Post, Ukrainian and European officials will hold talks in London on Wednesday. As part of a peace deal, the United States will offer to recognize Crimea as Russian territory and freeze the front lines of the conflict, several sources said. Ukrainian allies want to win security guarantees and reconstruction projects for Ukraine in exchange for any such territorial concessions. Among the proposals the United States made to Ukraine in Paris last week, according to three people familiar with the matter, was for Washington to formally recognize occupied Crimea as Russian territory and eventually lift sanctions on Russia under a future deal. In exchange, Russia would end hostilities in Ukraine at a time when the Russian military is gaining momentum on the battlefield and has a considerable advantage in terms of troops and weapons. The Zelensky adviser said Kiev agreed to only part of the U.S. proposal. One western official said the nature of the pressure on Ukraine was "shocking".