The United States has pulled out of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia after Vladimir Putin declined to sign up to a ceasefire. The State Department confirmed it will no longer “fly around the world at the drop of a hat” for meetings.

President Trump fired off rare public criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and sat for a dramatic one-on-one talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Vatican over the weekend, marking a starkly pro-Ukraine tilt for the president as he pushes for a peace deal.