New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his successful campaign for a second term that he could end the war in Ukraine "in 24 hours." But since his Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics among Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A summit between Trump and Putin set for Friday in Alaska could now be a pivotal moment in the 3 1/2-year-old war.

"At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," Trump said Monday.

Trump's rhetoric toward both Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved this year.

At the start of his second term, Trump was conciliatory toward P...