Is there a direct link between what US President Donald Trump says and what Russian President Vladimir Putin does? Certainly, the harsh words and bitter violence of recent days in Ukraine suggest the answer is maybe.

The Russian leader is convinced that Moscow’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months, according to people close to the Kremlin.

A week ago today, Trump had an hourlong phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And after that, everything changed. The end of the affair: The U.S. president — who in January came into office claiming he could strike a peace deal with Putin on Day One;