Nato summit expected to be triumphant for Trump and deflating for Ukraine

US president likely to be in self-congratulatory mood, with most allies persuaded to sign up to defence spending target

Donald Trump was expected to fly into the Nato summit in The Hague on Tuesday to perform a victory lap. After decades of complaining about European defence spending, with the help of Mark Rutte, Nato’s new secretary general, allies are ready to sign up to a target to raise, in most cases, core defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

On top of that, it is just a few days since the first major military intervention of Trump’s second term – the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan over the weekend – and hours since his declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.