Above all, they made Trump feel every bit like the most powerful person on the planet. What’s more, Trump took their bait. From the moment a week ago that Trump announced that he would meet that Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska,

It was a striking contrast to the meeting six months ago, when Trump, red-faced and angry, accused an agitated Zelensky of failing to show enough gratitude to the United States. The blowup was so heated that the Ukrainian delegation was sent from the White House without being allowed to eat their waiting lunch.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that today in Washington, during a joint meeting of the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, European countries, the EU, and NATO, the focus will be on shaping the future security architecture for Ukraine and Europe.

European leaders, as well as the Nato chief, joining Zelensky for talks with Trump in Washington makes it an extraordinarily high-level meeting. This reveals how high their concern is that the US president will help Vladimir Putin defeat Ukraine by backing his demands - such as no ceasefire before final settlement.

At what was billed as an “historic” presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun.

The meeting in Washington was the result of another summit, between Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in Alaska last week. That meeting yielded what Mr Putin vaguely called “understandings”,