Trump has triggered the Ukrainian endgame

After Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, last year, there was a brief moment when it appeared possible that the US would enforce a peace on Russia and Ukraine. But the conditions for a deal were not in place. Neither Putin nor Zelensky would compromise over the status of the Donbas, the Russian-speaking region in eastern Ukraine of which Russia has occupied 90%. Putin wants it all, and Zelensky refuses to hand over any unoccupied land.