Ukraine says it's ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, after meetings with the US in Saudi Arabia. (Nicolas Maeterlinck/Leah Millis/Mikhail Metzel)
As quickly as Ukraine's fortunes deteriorated after one brutal meeting in the White House, they have changed yet again.
Global politics have now become a day-by-day proposition.
Ukraine's reality reached a nadir two weeks ago after its President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting from hell with US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy stood up to Trump, occasionally talking over him and disputing much of what he was saying.
Then he took on Vice-President JD Vance, which made it worse.
Zelenskyy versus Trump and Vance was never going to end well for the Ukrainian leader.
He was on their home territory, speaking their language, and, most importantly, wanting more of their money.
Zelenskyy would have done well to have studied the meeting that French President Emmanuel Macron had with Trump a few days earlier.
Macron was no pushover — every so often he corrected some of Trump's comments.
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron met at the White House in February. (Reuters: Brian Snyder)
But he did it with humour and charm.
Zelenskyy, whose motivations to defend the interests and survival of his country are not in doubt, played a bad game.
And he paid a significant price — US military aid was immediately cut, and soon after US military intelligence, vital for Ukraine on their dreadful battlefield.
That all gave Russia a major battlefield advantage.
But all that has changed.
How the ceasefire proposal puts pressure on Russia
Zelenskyy has learnt his lesson, and realised how to play the Trump White House.
He's also been dealing with one of the more traditional members of the Trump cabinet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio has just met with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, alongside National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in the port city of Jeddah.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia for talks between Ukrainian and US officials on ending the war with Russia. (Reuters/Saudi Press Agency)
Zelenskyy, however, steered clear of the meeting, instead meeting with Saudia Arabia's crown prince in the nation's capital of Riyadh mere hours earlier.
Clearly, Zelenskyy realised that Trump was favouring Russia's Vladimir Putin in discussions about the war and decided to change tack.
Whatever happened behind closed doors, Zelenskyy has regained momentum.
Following the meeting, Rubio announced that Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire with Russia.
An immediate 30-day ceasefire to allow details to be worked out.
Russian state TV can't get enough of Trump 2.0
Photo shows A composite image of two men, both in suits, looking on.
And the US resumed its military aid and intelligence access.
This was a huge change in Ukraine's position.
The acrimony in that famous White House meeting began when Zelenskyy insisted that ceasefires were not a real option because Russia never adheres to ceasefires and therefore can't be trusted.
As Rubio said later, "the ball is now in their court".
He made the point that he would now put the proposal to Russia, adding that "if they say no, then we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here".
Now Russia is under pressure. Will Russia blink? If Russia does not want to give up the advantage it has on the battlefield — will it bow to Washington's pressure.
Is Trump really a Russia whisperer?
Amid the chaos of the Trump White House, could the new president have stumbled across — or indeed planned — a master strategy: if Russia agrees to a permanent ceasefire, Trump will have brought an end to the Ukraine war.
If Russia agrees and then reneges, Trump will look bad and Zelenskyy will have been vindicated.
This is high-stakes geopolitics, with Trump right in the middle.