Contradictions abound as Trump and his diplomats face Putin's veteran negotiators

Ukraine is looking to protect itself from a potentially catastrophic misunderstanding, sending its own negotiators to Riyadh

- Andrew Roth

Donald Trump's shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine has at times resembled a game of broken telephone, and his disregard for the details suggests the ceasefire he seeks is further off than his bullish claims indicate.

Consider the events of the past week. After his call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Trump said they had agreed to a partial ceasefire on "energy and infrastructure" targets, indicating Russia would not target bridges, hospitals, railways or other civilian structures. Hours later, a Russian drone slammed into a Ukrainian hospital. Russia's readout of the call said it had agreed to halt strikes on "energy infrastructure", suggesting everything else was fair game.