And now it's done so again: playing a deft hand at trying to turn the impact of the Iran war to its advantage, as Ukraine tries to get itself in the strongest position possible before eventual, hoped-for peace negotiations with Russia.

On Wednesday, Trump said he was confident a "solution" over Ukraine could be reached "relatively quickly" following a "very good" conversation with Vladimir Putin.

"I think 'some people' (have) made it difficult for him to make a deal," he added.

Ukraine signed two substantial defence cooperation agreements with European allies in April.

One was with Norway, for $8.

6bn, as part of a $28bn package of support until 2030.

The other was with Germany, including "various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defence systems," valued at $4.

Particularly because at the moment, the US has less military hardware available to sell to Europeans to help Ukraine, as Washington burns through supplies in the Middle East.

Trump's response when asked about redirecting weapons has been: "We do that all the time.

Sometimes we take from one, and we use for another. "

"We would like Middle Eastern states to also give us an opportunity to strengthen ourselves," Zelensky recently told French newspaper Le Monde.

"They have certain air defence missiles of which we don't have enough.

That's what we'd like to reach a deal on.

Another plus for Ukraine from the Iran war fallout has been finally getting the green light last week on a €90bn (£78bn), EU-backed loan that Kyiv said it urgently needed to purchase and produce military equipment over the coming year.

The loan had been blocked for months by EU member Hungary's then pro-Kremlin prime minister.

But Hungary now has a new, determinedly less Russia-friendly leader, after Viktor Orbán's resounding defeat in Hungary's election last month.

Orbán is a close friend and admirer of Donald Trump.

That didn't help him at election time.

Voters said they were angry about the Iran war, which has pushed up their energy costs.

That aided Orbán's demise, allowing the EU's Ukraine loan to finally be released.

With those "wins" under Kyiv's belt, plus Ukraine's boast that it is consistently killing more enemy soldiers each month than the 30,000 Russia has reportedly been recruiting in that time, Zelensky no longer feels on the back foot and may be in a better position to pursue a peace deal with Russia.

The sense of urgency in Ukraine is longstanding.

People are tired and suffering.

Conscripting new soldiers has been a serious challenge for a while now, and those on the battlefield are desperate to go home.

Zelensky has said he considers the pair's absence "disrespectful".

He says peace discussions are ongoing at a "technical" level but fears no progress will really be made until the Iran conflict has ended.

Who knows when that will be?

It's worth noting that Kushner and Witkoff have never visited Kyiv in an official capacity.

They visited the Russian capital late last year as ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine gained pace, and again in January.

Witkoff has been to Moscow eight times - he used to do a lot of business in Russia, in a private capacity.

He's met Putin on a number of occasions.

But Ukraine and other European countries were perturbed to read the US National Security Strategy (NSS), published towards the end of last year.

It conspicuously does not label Russia a security threat.

This is in direct contrast to how Moscow is viewed by Washington's European allies in Nato.

The NSS does underline the importance of ending the war in Ukraine, but the focus is not on establishing a durable peace for Kyiv.

Instead, the stated aim is to ensure "strategic stability" and potential partnership with Russia to free up resources for other US priorities.

Under Trump, there's been a failure to introduce or maintain hard-hitting economic sanctions against Russia that could truly move the dial and force the Kremlin to approach the negotiating table without a list of demands impossible for Kyiv (or its European backers) to accept.

On top of this, US military and economic assistance for Ukraine has all but dried up.

Europeans have instead been buying military hardware from the US to send to Kyiv.

But even that supply is now in danger, thanks to the Iran conflict.

With the world distracted by the war on Iran, Moscow has been stepping up attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Opinion is divided over whether this is a last lashing out before Russia's president comes to the negotiating table or an indication of ongoing grim determination.

At EU HQ in Brussels, most suspect the latter.

Russia's economy may be struggling under international sanctions but it's not decimated and is now firmly on a war footing.

Winding that down won't be easy, leading European countries to fret that even if peace is secured in Ukraine, Russia will swiftly seek to destabilise somewhere else in Europe, including targeting a Nato nation.

The Netherlands, Germany and Nato itself have described that as possible, even likely.

"The economy is stagnant or in recession.

Russia is sending enormous numbers of men to die who could be in work, the private commercial civilian economy is suffering by the imposition of the war economy… and what has Russia achieved?

A sliver of Ukrainian territory.

Surely, a ceasefire would be advantageous, if it included sanctions relief?

But Putin isn't thinking in those terms.

This is all about the decisions of one person, with imperial ambitions, running an autocratic system. "

While Kyiv still waits for US engagement, privately many Ukrainian officials are sceptical the US under Donald Trump will ever take the action they want to ensure peace, or, even in the case of a ceasefire, would stump up the desired cast-iron security guarantees, ensuring that Russia doesn't just come back again another day.

With their repeated use of the phrase "as long as it takes" when it comes to helping Ukraine, critics have long accused European leaders of 'managing' the war, rather than aggressively pursuing peace for Ukraine.

Despite all the speeches, all the visits to Kyiv and the money spent on weapons for Ukraine, when it comes to getting really, really tough in terms of what could be truly biting economic sanctions "Europeans stand around waiting for the Americans, says Keatinge.

"They act so timid yet the EU is a massive trading bloc. "

Brussels is now working on its 21st sanctions package against Russia.

But what of the €210bn frozen Russian central bank assets the EU has sitting in its jurisdiction, mainly in Belgium?

Balking at using that money to help Ukraine (citing legal and reputational considerations), EU leaders came up with the €90bn loan, underwritten by European taxpayers.

Europe's leaders could act against Russia with a lot more impact, argues Keatinge.

"They're just not willing - or united enough to go vollgas (foot on the gas pedal) on ending the war. "

Europe's leaders are sincere in wanting the suffering to end in Ukraine and for there to be a just and durable peace on their borders but it is also true that a ceasefire in Ukraine would push uncomfortable decisions to the fore.

Fewer countries are in favour of fast-tracking Ukraine's membership to the EU than they would like to admit.

As for the so-called "Coalition of the Willing", headed by France and the UK, that has pledged to act as a "reassurance force" in Ukraine if and when hostilities end - which countries would really stump up boots on the ground and for how long?

Especially if forces weren't supported by the US from the air.

Last week, Trump blasted what he called the hatred between Putin and Zelensky as "ridiculous".

Washington has seemed dismissive of Ukraine's selling of drone tech in the Gulf.

It hasn't taken up Zelensky on his public offer to share Kyiv's drone know-how with the US administration either.

At least not publicly.

But Ukraine's black-clad leader seemed unfazed by those details.

As long as he's making headlines, he hopes Ukraine isn't forgotten and that Washington might turn its attention back to his part of the world that much sooner.

BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day.

Emma Barnett and John Simpson bring their pick of the most thought-provoking deep reads and analysis, every Saturday

Highlighted sentences link to their corresponding claims. Click any highlighted sentence to jump to its detailed analysis.
Highlight Colors Indicate Claim Quality:
✓ Healthy Claim - No fallacies or contradictions detected
⚠️ Minor Issues - Has contradictions or minor fallacies
🚨 Serious Issues - Multiple contradictions or severe fallacies
Quality Criteria: Claims are evaluated for logical fallacies and contradictions with other news sources. Green highlights indicate healthy claims suitable for reference.
Source