A US media outlet says Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted on his country taking control of all four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed.



Bloomberg says Putin has even sought control of the regions' areas that Russia currently does not occupy. It adds that he has called for the demand to be met under any deal to end the conflict.



Russia unilaterally declared the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions in September 2022. They are Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russia currently occupies much of the regions, but not entirely.



Bloomberg on Tuesday reported on Putin's meeting with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin on Friday. It cited three people in Moscow familiar with the matter.
The article quotes two of the sources as saying Witkoff sought to persuade Putin that Russia should agree to a ceasefire which would halt the fighting along the current frontlines.



But it reports that according to the two sources, Putin maintained his "maximalist" position on territory.



The article also cites one of the sources as arguing that negotiations have reached an impasse for now. The source adds that it requires talks between Putin and Trump to make further progress.



Bloomberg says Putin's demand deals a blow to Trump's efforts to reach a ceasefire and a permanent end to the fighting.