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Trump faces fresh questions over ties to 'humanitarian' Putin

France 2421 October 2026, 18:53 UTCRussia

US President Donald Trump's pivot away from Ukraine has triggered fresh questions about his attachment to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the man a top American envoy flattered on Wednesday as a "humanitarian. Trump has cast his dealings with Putin as part of a mega-deal that has secured the release of American detainee Stephen Hubbard -- and which Trump says will end Russia's war on Ukraine. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kharkiv.

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