The bar, it must be said, was low.

Last time Volodymyr Zelensky came to the White House, he got called a dictator, disrespectful and told he was “gambling with world war three”. This time, he just said thank you. A lot. And thus emerged unscathed. But “thank you”, exactly for what?

What do we believe actually happened in that grand meeting yesterday – the Ukrainian chief bubble-wrapped in European leaders as if to stop him breaking and accepting the world’s worst deal. Run through the text of what was actually said – there is next to nothing to take home.

Donald Trump made no guarantee he’d support Zelensky to keep Ukrainian land. No guarantee of American security after any deal. No guarantee even that America would come to Ukraine’s aid in any future invasion – he floated the idea of a Nato “Article 5-like arrangement”. But there is nothing “like Article 5” if the countries don’t show up when you call. All we learnt – apart from the importance of flattery and a sartorial climb down – was that there may be a future meeting between Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, something the Russian side has

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