Trump’s lead envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Steve Witkoff, has had similar moments of confusion. In an interview in March, he could not name the regions over which the war is being fought. “These so-called four regions,” he said, struggling to recall them. “Donbas, Crimea... You know the names.”

After a phone call Monday between Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Trump appears to be walking away from negotiations for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump can’t end the Ukraine war, and he knows it, Nichols dissects the May 19 conversation and its wider implications — concluding that Trump remains the “junior partner” in U.S.-Russia relations, while Putin will continue waging war in Ukraine as long as he is allowed to get away with