Trump made ending the war in Ukraine central to his pitch for the presidency, claiming it would never have started had he been in office, and that he was well placed to bring about peace. He repeated his pledge to end the war within 24 hours of his presidency 53 times, according to CNN’s count, though has since claimed this was in “jest”.

President Trump acknowledged he made “no progress” in ending the war in Ukraine after a private, hour-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conversation comes just days after Trump blocked the transfer of U.