Zelensky rejected the US demand for a share of Ukraine's rare earth minerals on Wednesday, after Trump said he wanted a "deal" that would reflect the amount of aid provided to Ukraine from the US. Waltz said the White House was "very frustrated" with Zelensky after he levelled "unacceptable" insults at US President Donald Trump earlier this week.

After Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” and began talks with Russia, even some of Zelensky’s harshest domestic critics have begun defending him.

Authoritarians like Putin often concoct ridiculous pretexts for starting wars. It's not often that an American president appears to accept them.