The rift between Europe and the United States over Russia's war on Ukraine has plunged to a new depth as Donald Trump doubles down on his embrace of Vladimir Putin, jolting an alliance that was already treading on thin ice.
Over just two striking weeks, the US president has struck a diesel deal with his Russian counterpart, eased economic sanctions on Moscow, called for new elections in Ukraine and dismissed the legitimacy of its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Trump said was "more difficult to deal with" than Putin.
