U KRAINIAN OFFICIALS are locked in talks with America whose brinkmanship is dizzying even by Donald Trump’s standards. He and his team are demanding Ukraine sign over profits from its mining, ports and other industries in return for any backing from Uncle Sam.

Russia’s army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.

Fresh possibilities have emerged for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with a change of power in Washington.