Who will America’s president listen to next on Ukraine?

In February VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY lasted less than an hour inside the Oval Office before he was ordered to leave the building. When he returned to the scene on August 18th, many feared something even worse. Donald Trump had, three days earlier, rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska. On his way back he announced that he was no longer pressing for a ceasefire, but now favoured a comprehensive “peace” deal that could see Ukraine hand over a big chunk of fortified territory in return for a promise from Mr Putin that—cross his heart—he would not invade Ukraine for a third time.