But in recent weeks, the relationship has begun to show signs of strain.

The White House faces the question of whether its appeasement of Russia has failed to achieve the ceasefire it promised and instead emboldened the Kremlin on the battlefield.

An evidently unprepared Obama administration made no serious protest of Putin's seizure of Crimea and occupation of part of the industrial Donetsk in February 2014. The Biden administration, expecting Russia's tanks to quickly take Kyiv, ordered American diplomats evacuated in February 2022.

Christiane Amanpour speaks to Fiona Hill, former National Security Council Senior Director for Russian Affairs.

Trump called Putin 'crazy' over the weekend and said May 27 he's 'playing with fire' as he continues to bombard Ukraine during peace negotiations.

Trump previously said his personal relationship with Putin would usher in peace for Ukraine. Now, he says Putin's gone "absolutely CRAZY!"

President Donald Trump's willingness to come to the table comes just after he condemned Russia’s recent large-scale strike against Ukraine.

A top Kremlin aide has accused Donald Trump of being “not sufficiently informed” about the situation in Ukraine after the US president said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire.”

Hundreds of Ukrainian drones crossed into Russia overnight into Wednesday morning, dozens of which targeted Moscow.

A Russian official said "Trump is not being sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian confrontation."

The American president’s preference for praising and excusing the Russian leader has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine.