For Britain’s prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who chaired the meeting and who had experienced a more congenial visit to Washington on February 27th, the priority was to secure European commitments to defend Ukraine while repairing bridges between Europe and America, and between Mr Zelensky, who sat next to Sir Keir at the summit, and Mr Trump.

Lisa Murkowski delivered a scorching rebuke Saturday of President Donald Trump’s explosive exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a rare voice of Republican dissent as party members lined up in support of the president’s increasingly combative relationship with Ukraine.