Russia no longer plans to return parts of Ukraine’s occupied territory as part of any future peace agreement and instead intends to keep them as permanent buffer zones, according to people familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking. President Vladimir Putin remains determined to seize all of Ukraine’s Donetsk region by force while retaining occupied areas in the border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing three sources close to the Kremlin.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The reported shift marks a tougher stance from Moscow, which had previously been linked to informal proposals under which Russia would return occupied parts of Sumy and Kharkiv in exchange for Ukraine ceding the remainder of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kremlin says “Anchorage spirit” is dead According to Bloomberg’s sources, Putin abandoned the idea of territorial concessions after concluding that unofficial understandings reached with US President Donald Trump during their summit in Anchorage, Alaska, last August had effectively collapsed. While Washington has repeatedly denied any peace deal emerged from the meeting, Kremlin officials have claimed the summit produced a framework – dubbed the “spirit of Anchorage” – that envisioned Ukraine giving up territory in Donbas in return for Russia withdrawing from parts of Sumy and Kharkiv. The Kremlin reportedly now considers that option off the table. Moscow hardens position Bloomberg’s sources said Moscow’s position has hardened amid intensified Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia, including attacks on Moscow and oil infrastructure, as well as growing US pressure.