The roots of Donald Trump’s animus toward Ukraine — an issue with profound consequences should he be elected again — can be found in a yearlong series of events spanning 2016 and 2017.

Trump ‘asked Putin for advice’ about whether the US should help arm Ukraine - Trump had only been in office for seven months when he met with Putin in Hamburg

According to a report from the New York Times, Donald Trump's hostility toward Ukraine originated during a meeting in 2017 with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the recently elected former president asked the Russian strongman for advice.

Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw laid out plans in May to spend 10 billion zlotys (£1.97 billion) to beef up its northern and eastern borders with fortifications, surveillance, reconnaissance and anti-drone systems by the end of 2028 to deter adversaries or help repel a potential attack.