The question from the BBC interviewer was short and to the point. Considering how Vladimir Putin fed him a steady stream of bs about a possible peace deal with Ukraine, might President Donald Trump be ready to admit his “very good relationship” with the Russian president is ending?

If Trump now permits a substantial amount of U.S. weapons to continue to flow to Ukraine, that would mark an important change. Since Trump took office, many in Ukraine and European capitals have thought that might well be the best-case scenario for Ukraine, given the U.S. president's clear hostility to continuing U.S. donations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sacrificed an estimated 1 million of his soldiers, killed and wounded, in a three-year campaign to crush Ukraine.