Trump also revealed that Putin had recently offered to assist in mediating between Israel and Iran during their brief June conflict — an offer he declined. “I said, ‘No, no, you help me get a settlement with you, with Russia,’” Trump recounted. “And I think we're going to be doing that too.”

As the conflict in Ukraine labors into its third year, one question now lingers over the war: Can a rapid influx of Western arms and a threatening tariff threat pressure a change in Moscow’s calculus?