When Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington two years ago, he was hailed as a hero. It was December 2022, just days before Christmas, when the Ukrainian president made a quick visit to the United States. He thanked president Joe Biden for America's unwavering sup- port in his country's war against Russia. Later, after addressing a joint session of Congress, he handed speaker Nancy Pe- losi a blue-and-gold Ukrainian battle flag and, in return, received a framed Ameri- can flag that had flown over the Capitol in his honour. The visit underscored the deep alliance between Washington and Kyiv, forged in the fire of Russia's brutal invasion. It was a moment of democratic solidarity that felt unshakeable.

Fast forward to last month, and that unity lay in tatters. Zelensky’s highly anticipated meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House was meant to cement a new agreement on Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, an asset vital to both nations’ economic interests. Instead, the talks held on February 28 unravelled into an unprecedented diplomatic debacle, with Trump and Vance accusing Zelensky of ingratitude and the Ukrainian leader pushing back defiantly. Unlike foreign leaders who navigate Trump’s temperament with flattery, Zelensky challenged the administration’s apparent reluctance to confront Russian aggression. A visibly enraged Trump scrapped a planned joint press conference and sent Zelensky back without even inviting him to the lunch arranged in his honour.

It marks a pivotal moment in global politics, signalling not just a dramatic shift in US foreign policy but a serious challenge to the post-World War II liberal order. Washington appears to be embracing a new form of great-power dealmaking, one that could leave Ukraine, and much of Europe, perilously exposed.