A spat between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come as a windfall for the Kremlin, raising Moscow's hopes for a halt in the U.S. assistance to Kyiv even as Russian troops seek to extend their gains in Ukraine.

A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelenskyy.” That was the verdict of the editorial team at the Kyiv Independent, one of Ukraine’s leading media outlets, on a remarkable spat in the Oval Office that played out on Feb.

Withholding aid is another sign that the relationship between the Trump administration and Ukrainian leadership has deteriorated.