DONALD TRUMP had billed August 8th as deadline day for Vladimir Putin: stop fighting or face crippling sanctions. But as the day wore on, it seemed the ultimatum had come and gone without event. Then, around 6pm, the White House announced there would be a summit between Mr Trump and Mr Putin on August 15th in Alaska. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, apparently will not attend. Mr Putin seems to have achieved this diplomatic triumph simply by skilfully playing his recent negotiations with American envoys. It was a familiar pattern for Mr Trump—hard rhetoric, then soft climbdown and more breathing space for the Kremlin.