US Politics | Ukraine news latest: Putin demands ‘ceasefire’ but won’t ‘negotiate’ with annexed regions after sham referendum result

VLADIMIR Putin has made calls for Ukraine to ...sit down at the negotiating table... as the dictator tries to exit war on his ...own terms.... After the sham referendum outcome on Friday saw the annexation of Kherson, Mariupol, Donetsk and Luhansk, a Russian political scientist has claimed the dictator wants to back out of the war as soon as possible. Andrey Kortunov, leader of the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow, said ...President Putin wants to end this whole thing as fast as possible,... despite Putin threatening nuclear action should Ukraine try to reclaim back the annexed regions. Speaking to CNN, Andrey said: Russia cannot simply get to where it was, on the 24 February of this year, say, okay, you know, that's fine. Our mission is accomplished. So we go home... ...There should be something that can be presented to the public as a victory.... US presidential advisor Fiona Hill, also told the publication Putin has ...acute urgency... that he was losing momentum, and is trying to exit the war the way he entered it, feeling as though he has not lost control. Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest updates...