Ukraine talks: Why Kyiv is holding firm over Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea
One of the main obstacles in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is the fate of Crimea.
Now Donald Trump has indicated he is considering recognising the illegally annexed peninsula as Russian.
So why is Crimea of such strategic importance and why does Kyiv refuse to give it up?
In the eyes of many military experts, the 10,000 square mile Crimean peninsula is the decisive piece of territory in the Ukraine War - where it could be won or lost.
For the Kremlin, Crimea is a vital naval asset - and crucially, since the invasion, a way of funneling weapons and fuel from Russia to the frontline.
For Ukraine it is the key target - sever that link and Russia's ability to sustain this war will be seriously dented.
The peninsula has been a battlefield for centuries, from the days of Florence Nightingale to the Second World War.
Crimea seized by "little green men" in February 2014
It was a determination to control Crimea that prompted Vladimir Putin to send in his "little green men" to seize it in February 2014.
These were Russian troops without any insignia on their uniforms, who took over the territory without any real Ukrainian resistance.
A rigged referendum later claimed 97 per cent support for annexation and since then a million Russians have migrated in, replacing the pro-Ukrainian population.
President Putin thought that by embroiling Ukraine in a domestic territorial dispute he could put the West off getting closer to Ukraine.
This was part of his wider aim of making Kyiv more "Moscow-friendly" and controlling events inside Ukraine.
Crimea provides Russia with one its few warm water ports and with it comes control of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Until the 2014 takeover, Moscow leased the Crimean port of Sevastopol from Kyiv in return for discounted Russian gas.
It was once the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet, but during the war Ukraine bombarded it with British Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukraine's military eventually destroyed or damaged around half of the fleet, including a submarine and its flagship the Moskva, using drones and anti-ship missiles.
Crimea is important to both sides as it gives access to the Mediterranean, the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
Russia used it as a starting point to ship weapons to the Assad regime in Syria, and before the current conflict started Russia was busy upgrading the peninsula's air defences, installing formidable S-400 air defence systems.
Crimea is - or was - also home to at least five Russian air bases.
Moscow had squadrons of Su-24 bombers and Su-30 fighters there, as well as transport planes and attack helicopters.
Ukraine has repeatedly hit these bases with long range drones, rockets, and US ATACMS missiles.
The Russians reinforced the bases with hardened shelters, though reports suggest only three of the five are now operational.
The other key asset for Russia is the Kerch Bridge.
Built in 2018 at a cost of $3bn, it's the longest bridge in Europe and provides a road and rail link from mainland Russia into occupied Ukraine.
The Ukrainians have attacked it several times, most spectacularly in October 2022, when a truck bomb exploded beside a train loaded with fuel, collapsing the bridge into the sea.
Nine months later Ukraine used maritime drones to attack it again.
For Vladimir Putin, the bridge is a symbol that Ukraine is part of Russia and the Kremlin even released footage of the Russian President driving himself across it after it was repaired.
The Russians have recently reinforced the bridge's defences, ringing it with air defences and installing physical barriers such as underwater chains and barges around it.
They are even thought to be using trained dolphins to detect incoming threats.
Ukraine refuses to give up on Crimea
The Ukrainians always refer to Crimea as "temporarily occupied", indicating that one day they hope to liberate it from Russian rule, however long that may take.
At the moment that seems militarily impossible.
But whatever deal Donald Trump thinks he can strike with Vladimir Putin, President Zelensky is adamant that Kyiv will never give it up.
Ukrainians have seen the Kremlin trample on the Minsk agreements and seize Donetsk and Luhansk - and they do not believe this latest peace proposal will be any different.
Crimea is where this war began 11 years ago and while its fate remains key to ending it, handing it to Russia remains off the table for Ukraine.
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