He has always been determined that Russia would be one of the great powers – along with the United States and China – qualified to carve the rest of the world up between them. That is why he always wanted to talk to Washington, not Kyiv, about the fate of Ukraine. Anything else would be a humiliation.

Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump’s secretary of defence, drew the outline of the US president’s vision of peace in blunt terms during Wednesday’s meeting with Nato defence ministers.

Occupied territory will not be given back to Ukraine, he said – implying a freeze along the current line of contact. Ukraine will receive neither Nato membership nor an Article Five security guarantee. And absolutely no US troops will be involved in the peace-keeping force. Britain and the other allies who have stood with them since the invasion began will also be able to claim a part of that victory.

But there is a catch. As Mr Trump has made clear, and Mr Hegseth spelt out in language even a child could understand, America is not interested in underwriting either Ukrainian or European security. So the shape of the peace will depend on Europe – and that includes Britain.