Kremlin says Russia will ‘never give up confiscated land’ in Ukraine.

Russia has again said it is open to talks to end the Ukraine conflict – but will not give up its claim to a large chunk of the country it has invaded.

The Kremlin said it will “never be able to compromise” on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, which it declared Russian after referendums last year that were widely condemned as shams.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There are certain realities that have already become an internal factor. I mean the new territories.

“The constitution of the Russian Federation exists and cannot be ignored.” Russian forces do not fully control any of the four regions.

Ukraine says Russia must abandon all of its territory and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, before any talks.

Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Bakhmut on the Eastern Front was becoming “more difficult”.

Russian troops and Wagner Group mercenaries attempt to cut off Ukrainian supply lines into the city.

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