U.S. President Donald Trump bragged earlier this week that gasoline prices are down since he took office in January — proof, the White House claims, that his economic policies are working. A more accurate reason could be that the world’s two biggest economies — America and China — are both slowing,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast doubt on the feasibility of a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, arguing that such a truce could provide Kyiv with an opportunity to regroup and acquire additional military aid from the West.

The timing of the call was the most recent evidence of Ukraine being relegated to the back seat in talks about its future.