By Tom Balmforth, Andreas Rinke, John Irish KYIV/BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) -For Ukraine and its allies, who spent months trying to win Donald Trump over to their cause in the war started by Russia, it is back to square one.

The U.S. has achieved "a lot of progress" toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump said during a press briefing at the White House on May 21. On May 19, Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin,

The president announced that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”