US President Donald Trump, accompanied by Tulsi Gabbard

Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence has split with Europe and Nato by suggesting Vladimir Putin does not have the capability to conquer Ukraine.

The Russian president sent his troops into the neighbouring country in February 2022 in a clear land grab, even trying – and failing – to overrun its capital Kyiv.

He has falsely alleged Ukraine needed to be “de-Nazified” and claimed that Russia had been pushed to invade over fears of Nato’s eastward expansion.

Almost four years later, Putin now holds approximately a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign land – and continues to push for more on the frontline.

Trump’s administration is currently trying to secure a peace deal to end the war by any means necessary, even if it involves rewarding Russia for its aggression by recognised its illegal occupation.

Meanwhile, European allies are desperately trying to negotiate a proposal which would retain Ukraine’s sovereignty and prevent Putin from pushing further into the........

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