Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is learning how to earn President Donald Trump’s favor better. This puts Russian President Vladimir Putin in a more difficult position as Russia and Ukraine negotiate a possible end to their now three-year war.

Zelensky and Trump plainly do not like each other. One problem is that both men are arrogant. Another is that where Zelensky resents Trump’s moral equivocation over Russia’s responsibility for starting the war, Trump dislikes Zelensky’s lack of deference to him. Still, Zelensky’s new approach to dealing with Trump appears to be paying dividends.