US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth says Ukraine would have to cede territory, alarming Kyiv and European allies

Donald Trump has said that he and Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin negotiations to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, as the secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, said that Ukraine would have to cede territory and reject Nato membership in order to reach a deal.

The rapid entry into negotiations with Russia and open demands that Ukraine concede land will have set alarm bells ringing in Kyiv and among its European allies that the Trump administration will offer minimal resistance to Putin’s demands in order to cut a deal as quickly as possible.