American and European officials thought they had a real opportunity to end the war in Ukraine. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin believing that a breakthrough was possible. Trump welcomed the Russian president to America, rolling out a literal red carpet. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rushed to Washington with European leaders, some of whom even sounded optimistic. Trump "broke the deadlock" with Putin, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at the White House. "If we play this well, we could end this."