President Donald Trump’s intense pressure on Ukraine and deference to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is extinguishing any lingering notion that the United States is an evenhanded peace broker.

President Donald Trump issued a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine overnight. He later said he believed Putin would listen to his plea to halt Russian strikes on Ukraine and expressed optimism about a potential peace deal.

President Trump also sought to divert blame should negotiations fall apart, a sign that he is perhaps more pessimistic about a deal than he was when he took office in January.