During a meeting next week, US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will discuss a peace plan for the war in Ukraine, which already includes some of the territories of the attacked country that should remain in Russian hands.

Putin conveyed his demands and plan to special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow earlier this week. The plan states that Kyiv must withdraw its forces from two partially occupied regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has revealed the larger plan behind the demands made by Vladimir Putin to America.

ISW analysts announced in a report that if Ukraine were to hand over the entire territory of the Donetsk region, it would lose its main line of defense in this part of the country, which would open an easy path for Russia to attack Kharkiv and the Dnieper.

Analysts noted that since 2014, Ukraine has been building a continuous defensive line in the north of Donbas, where some cities and towns have already turned into real fortresses.

"The fortress belt consists of four major cities and several towns and villages, stretching from north to south along the H-20 Konstantinovka-Slavyansk highway. The length of the line is 50 kilometers," the report states.

Analysts recalled that Russia had already tried to occupy the strip of fortresses during the first months of the large-scale invasion, but had failed to do so.

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday evening that he would meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska, with the details of the meeting later confirmed by the Kremlin.