Ukraine's regions occupied by Russia: What you need to know

Five Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia are at the centre of diplomatic efforts to settle the three-and-a-half-year war.

Russia has demanded the whole of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in exchange for a freeze on the southern front line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, according to a source.

A source briefed on a phone call between Donald Trump and European leaders following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, told AFP that the US leader was "inclined to support" this proposal.

But Ukraine has refused to give up these regions, which it considers "temporarily occupied".

Here is what you need to know about these territories.

- Donetsk and Lugansk: Kremlin's top priority -

The two regions bordering Russia form the Donbas, an industrial and mining region comprising Donetsk and Lugansk, and conquering it is a priority for Putin.

Russian troops hold more than 99 percent of the Lugansk region and 79 percent of the Donetsk region, as well as their regional capitals, according to AFP's analysis of data provided by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP).

According to local officials, some 242,700 people still live in the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, including in several cities.

The Russian advance is threatening Ukrainian military logistic centres and strongholds in the area, which has been heavily fortified since 2014, when a Moscow-sponsored separatist revolt triggered a conflict.

The full-scale invasion of February 2022 made things worse, devastating large swathes of land and forcing many to flee.

Donetsk and Lugansk are traditionally majority Russian-speaking areas, which were used as a pretext by the Kremlin to justify the invasion.

In September 2022, Russia said it had annexed the two coal mining regions, along with Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

The Donetsk region has seen some of the war's bloodiest battles, such as in Bakhmut, Mariupol and Avdiivka.

- Kherson: partly liberated -

The Kherson region, known for agriculture, was almost entirely occupied by the Russian army in the beginning of the invasion.

But Ukraine later recaptured the regional capital, also called Kherson, in a November 2022 counter-offensive.

The front line has since then been relatively stable, with the Russian army controlling about 71 percent of the Kherson region, according to AFP's analysis.

There has also been little movement in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Ukraine retains control of the main urban centre as well.

- Zaporizhzhia: fragile nuclear region -

According to AFP's calculations, Russia holds 74 percent of the Zaporizhzhia region, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which Moscow captured in the first weeks of the war.

Even though the power plant has been shut down, it is still considered unsafe as it remains close to the fighting.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of targeting it.

- Sumy and Kharkiv: minor incursions -

In addition to the territories Russia claims to have annexed, its troops are conducting minor incursions into the northeastern border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv.

But Moscow does not control any major settlements there and only occupies five percent of the Kharkiv region and one percent of the Sumy region, AFP's analysis of ISW and CTP data showed.

The Kremlin has said it wants to establish a "buffer zone" there to prevent Ukrainian offensives into Russia, such as the Kursk incursion in the summer of 2024.

- Crimea: 11 years of occupation -

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in a referendum denounced by the international community, and the Kremlin's grip over the peninsula remains particularly strong.

Moscow seeks recognition of the annexation by Western countries and Kyiv.

Regaining control of Crimea was out of the question for Ukraine, Trump warned on Sunday evening, two days after meeting Putin.

In 2018, Russia built a bridge linking the resort and wine-making region to the mainland, which is now a target for the Ukrainian army.

Kyiv is also striking Moscow's military and navy infrastructure on the heavily fortified peninsula.

How life is for Ukrainians in the annexed territories remains difficult to assess.

Any dissent or criticism of the occupation is punished by the Moscow-installed administration, with detention, torture or death, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The Kremlin is accused of "russification" of the territories by controlling education, the media and all aspects of daily life, offering Russians incentives to move there and handing out Russian passports to Ukrainians.