For Ukraine and its allies, who spent months trying to win Donald Trump over to their cause in the war started by Russia, it is back to square one.

After Trump’s third phone call with Putin since his inauguration, it appears there will be no let up in fighting and less U.S. pressure on Moscow.

A much-hyped phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday was followed up by optimistic statements by the pair – but there are doubts over whether it marked any real progress towards peace in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has withstood pressure for an immediate cease-fire as a precondition for peace talks, but the Russian president’s push for normalizing relations with the United States appears in limbo.

In September 2022, Moscow claimed to have annexed the four Ukrainian regions and to this day it does not fully control them. Putin illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected any suggestion it would surrender the regions.

A European leader has revealed he believes President Trump is losing his patience with Vladimir Putin over his stalling tactics over a ceasefire in Ukraine. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who was photographed talking to President Trump during the recent funeral of Pope Francis, said he thought time may be running out for Moscow.

Moscow’s proposal for peace talks backfired as Ukraine’s European allies persuaded Zelensky to accept U.S. cease-fire plan.

European officials have no idea what President Donald Trump will say next about Russia’s war in Ukraine — or where that may leave them.