Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged that Ukrainian forces would be unable to regain control over Crimea and said the US won’t have to commit troops as part of security guarantees in an apparent overture to President Donald Trump.

In 1944, Stalin deported almost all Crimean Tatars to Central Asia in what Ukraine recognises as an act of genocide. They were only allowed to return home in the late 1980s. As we've been reporting, Crimea has been a point of contention in peace talks for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, memories of Russia’s annexation are fresh and resentments run high, leaving the country’s president few choices on the latest American peace plan.