Trump also revealed that Putin had recently offered to assist in mediating between Israel and Iran during their brief June conflict — an offer he declined. “I said, ‘No, no, you help me get a settlement with you, with Russia,’” Trump recounted. “And I think we're going to be doing that too.”

Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office. His patience with Russia's Putin now appears to be wearing thin.

The weapons for Ukraine would henceforth be bought by European allies rather than donated from American stocks or bought from manufacturers with American money, as in the past. Billions of dollars’-worth of funds authorised by Congress under his predecessor,