The US daily paper reported on Saturday that Putin informed US President Donald Trump of that during telephone talks on Thursday.
Donetsk is a strategically vital region in eastern Ukraine.
Putin also told Trump that in return, he would surrender parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the country’s south that Russia says it has conquered.
The Washington Post quoted senior officials as saying that Putin is not backing away from his past demands, despite Trump’s optimism about securing a deal.
Fierce fighting continues in Donetsk. Kyiv has maintained it is dead against giving up any of its territories.
Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Hungary in the coming weeks to discuss Ukraine. Putin’s demand could affect the direction of future ceasefire and peace talks
