Donald Trump has shown sympathy towards Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing him as “very nice” after meeting him on the sidelines of the Nato summit, while striking a tougher tone on Russia.
“Vladimir Putin really has to end that war. People are dying at levels and people haven’t seen before for a long time,” Trump said. He added that the Russian leader had offered to mediate in the Iran-Israel conflict, to which he responded: “No, you can help me with Russia.”
The US president has oscillated in his attitudes towards his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, culminating with an Oval Office bust-up with Zelenskyy in February after which Washington temporarily suspended its military and intelligence assistance to Kyiv.