The readouts from the Tuesday Putin-Trump phone call made no mention of the Russian-annexed territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - but what has remained clear to all observers is that Moscow is not going to give them up.
Russia's privately owned Kommersant business newspaper reports that President Putin is pushing his US counterpart to grant recognition of Russia's annexation of the four territories in exchange for a pledge not to seize more land.
Kommersant says that Putin is fundamentally arguing that "there’s no taking back what Russia has gained" - and that the eastern territories are now permanently part of the Russian Federation.
Back in September 2022 Moscow oversaw war-time elections there, and the vote among the Russian-speaking population was overwhelming to come under Russia. The West and Kiev condemned these as a "sham" referendum.
"If this [recognition] happens soon, Russia… will not lay claim to Odesa and other Ukrainian territories," Kommersant writes further of Putin's aims in negotiations.
However, the Kremlin has said that the annexed territories were not specifically dealt with in the Tuesday Trump phone call.
While the key southern port city of Odessa has come under occasional major missile attack since the war's start, it has thus far been sparred of full-scale military assault or invasion.
One year ago (in March of 2024), Elon Musk predicted that Odessa would become the next big city Russian forces would eye after solidification of their hold over the Donbass region.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO explained at the time that Ukraine's position continued to weaken even as its leadership refused negotiations while pressing the West for more weapons. "Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question," he stressed in his commentary posted on X.
"The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnepr, which is tough to overcome. However, if the war lasts long enough, Odessa will fall too," Musk wrote at the time.
And that's when he concluded, "Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question. I recommend a negotiated settlement before that happens."
One year later, and there's a glimmer of hope for such negotiated settlement under Trump. Commenting on the Tuesday phone call with Putin, White House Special Envoy Steven Witkoff unveiled that the next meeting between the US and Russia is set for Sunday, March 23 - to discuss ceasefire in Ukraine.
And on the phone call specifically, Witkoff said in a fresh Fox interview, "It was these two great leaders coming together for the betterment of mankind." He also referred to the call "epic".
Witkoff was asked, "Does that mean that they [Russians] themselves won't rearm also? Will there be reciprocity there?", Witkoff replied: "Well, I think the devil's in the details."
