In the Oval Office, Trump brandished a photograph he said Vladimir Putin sent him after their summit in Alaska and said he would sign it for the Russian leader.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s final words at the Alaska summit were delivered with a smile, spoken in an uncharacteristic burst of English.

Vladimir Putin wanted a lot of things from his visit to Alaska. A ceasefire in Ukraine was not one of them. Throughout the summer, his troops have been grinding out advances along the frontline, and they achieved a sudden breakthrough in the days before the Alaska summit.