By Andrea Shalal, Thomas Escritt and Tom Balmforth WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Russia's Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine but also said on Wednesday that a meeting between them could swiftly be followed by a second that would include the leader of Ukraine.

Ukraine lost around 14,000 soldiers and civilians during this period. But in February 2022, Putin launched his full-scale invasion. Russian troops quickly reached the outskirts of Kyiv and seized huge swathes of the south, including big chunks of two more oblasts, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to "land swap" and plans on talking to Putin about ending the war without Zelenskyy present.