US President Donald Trump has ditched his call for a ceasefire in Ukraine, backing instead Russian President Vladimir Putin’s push for a permanent peace agreement. That has not stopped some European leaders from pushing for a temporary truce first, even though the US president has seemingly decided one is not necessary.

A week after Donald Trump applauded Vladimir Putin down the red carpet in Alaska, and days after an unprecedented summit of European leaders at the White House, the American president came crashing down to earth on Friday.

President Trump and European leaders met for a one-of-a-kind summit at the White House on Monday to push toward a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. But by the end of a marathon day of