Washington-brokered negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine have largely boiled down to a diamond-shaped peninsula about the size of Massachusetts.

Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea from Ukraine 11 years ago was quick and bloodless. But Kyiv and most of the world never recognized Moscow’s annexation of the strategic peninsula.

Amid reports that a U.S. peace proposal might include recognizing Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea, President Donald Trump denied Ukraine was being pressured to accept the move — while also asserting Ukraine had given up the peninsula in 2014 "without firing a shot.