Hours after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin departed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday, Moscow officials reported that two more villages in Ukraine’s east had been seized by Russian forces. It was a grimly apt postscript to a “peace summit” that allowed a pariah leader to posture on the world stage, but signally failed to achieve the outcome that its host claimed to desire.

Mr Trump had suggested that he would be “unhappy” if a ceasefire were not agreed during discussions with Mr Putin. There would, he warned, be “severe consequences” if his guest proved unwilling to end the war. Predictably, no ceasefire announcement was forthcoming, and the sanctions Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened, but never imposed, have been kicked into the long grass. Instead, the US president offered a crucial concession to Mr Putin, concurring that a cessation of hostilities should come only after a “comprehensive” peace agreement.

This was a betrayal of hollow assurances given to Kyiv and European allies by Mr Trump before the summit, and a gift to the Kremlin. As Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prepares to meet the US president in Washington on Monday, he consequently finds himself in a deeply invidious position.

According to reports, Mr Putin’s core demand is that Ukraine surrenders all unoccupied territory in the Donbas region, in exchange for a supposedly permanent ceasefire. There are, of course, no good grounds to take the Russian president at his word. His references in Alaska to the “root causes” of the war indicate that he remains determined to force Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit, and restrict its capacity to act as an independent state.

A “deal” on anything like those terms would amount to precisely the carve-up feared by Kyiv. Mr Zelenskyy cannot, should not and will not acquiesce. But having retreated from his threats to make life tougher for Mr Putin, the US president is returning to his default bullying stance towards Mr Zelenskyy. Asked what advice he would offer the Ukrainian leader, Mr Trump responded: “Make a deal. Gotta make a deal.”

The peremptory tone is worryingly reminiscent of February’s notorious Oval Office meeting, when Mr Zelenskyy was told: “You don’t have the cards.” In vague terms, Mr Trump has alluded to a future US role in security guarantees following a deal. But as Ukraine fights for a viable future, he appears impatient to move on to doing lucrative future business with Moscow, and angling for a Nobel peace prize.

Given that ominous backdrop, the presence of Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders in Washington on Monday will represent a crucial counterweight. Mr Putin will attempt to force Ukraine’s negotiating hand by taking more territory in the east, where Russian forces have been advancing at the fastest rate for months. Europe must ensure that, as Kyiv battles for a just peace, Mr Zelenskyy does have enough cards to play. As well as displaying solidarity in the White House, that means upping the economic pressure and military support, and urging Mr Trump to do the same.

Ukraine must remain in control of the future of its own territory, and the use of force must not be rewarded by the summary redrawing of borders. With enormous bravery and skill, and at immense cost, Ukraine has resisted an illegal invasion for more than three years. There must be no sellout.